The Story of Us
by Watcher of the Hearts
Summary: Set in the What They've Needed All Along universe.. a collection of one-shots from before, after and maybe even during the story.
1. Chapter 1 The First Encounter

**Welcome welcome! After the many great reviews I got for What They've Needed All Along I just couldn't resist writing this story. It's not a sequel (although that is not entirely out of the question should it be something everyone would want to read) but rather a series of one-shots from before, during and possibly even after the What They've Needed All Along universe. **

**So let's start with this one: In one of the chapters of What They've Needed All Along, there was a conversation in which Reena alluded to Megamind and Roxanne being hot for one another ever since "the day that big blue head landed on your balcony" and well… I figured why the heck not write a fic about that! **

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><p><strong>The First Encounter<strong>

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><p>With a final grunt of effort Roxanne Ritchi dropped a heavy cardboard box onto the floor of her living room. She let out a gasp of a breath, wiping the back of her hand across her brow. She'd been working for hours now moving in her possessions into her new apartment. The double doors opening onto a balcony had been a God-send and she'd gladly opened them up to let in the warm spring breeze. She hadn't exactly known what to expect with moving into a big city like Metro City. She'd been to the city but twice before, but had been offered a field reporter's job that paid well, and fresh out of college at that! Roxanne was fortunate enough to have a friend from college that lived in the city, and she'd helped her in finding a place to stay. It was a bit pricey, but she'd be able to afford it with her new salary and had quickly dipped into her savings to make the down payments and rent.<p>

Her new doorman had been kind enough to help her with moving in her furniture. He'd offered to help put up the dark wood blocks that were to become her bookcase but she politely declined. She'd been determined to make this new apartment feel as much like home as she could, and for some reason figured that if she built her own things that it would help in that process. Now however, as she set about that task, she was beginning to wish she'd taken up Carlos on his offer.

Roxanne backed up from the wall and sat on top of the box she'd dropped there earlier; full of all her favorite books. Her eyes scanned over the room, and she suddenly began to feel overwhelmed by just how much she actually had to do.

_Maybe moving in the day before I start my new job was a bad idea…_

With a final sigh Roxanne stood up and headed for her bedroom. The books could wait for now; instead she'd set up her room.

Her bedroom proved a simpler task than then bookcase had. Granted it hadn't taken nearly as long as it would have as Carlos had built her bed for her. Already she had her dresser completed and was just finishing on the closet when she heard the loud rumble of an engine. She would have passed it off as some loud car down on the streets if it hadn't been for the voice. She stood stock still in her bedroom.

How would someone have gotten on her balcony?

No, that was impossible. It had to have been one of her neighbor's voices coming in from the windows. Everyone had their windows open on a day like today. Yes…that was it.

Still, she stayed completely silent and strained her ears to listen. It was a male; that much she could tell; and he had a unique sort of accent that was strangely pleasing to her ears.

"Don't worry so much, Minion, it won't take me but a second to fix. That buffed up pretty boy knocked the engine loose but it's nothing I can't fix."

Roxanne could barely make out the second voice, but clearly there was one as the first voice answered back.

"Simple my main fish, I was far too fast for him to catch this time. But I still say we need to go with the newest design, this one is too heavy." The voice chuckled. "Huh? Oh some quiet little balcony. It's been empty for months so no worries. I'll be home before dinner! Ciao now!"

Okay… so clearly this voice was on her balcony. But how was that even possible? And what was all that talk about engines?

Roxanne had been told when she was offered the job that the city had a constant stream of activity due to local hero Metro Man, and villain Megamind. She'd already met Metro Man a few times before. The first time had been when she'd visited the city for an official interview and tour of the station; she'd already gotten the job from her college news entries but for fairness sake had to be interviewed all the same. The second time she'd met him had been but two days later when on her drive home her clunker of a car broke down and he gave her a literal "lift" home. However Roxanne had yet to meet this "Megamind", but she had a fleeting feeling that the mystery man on her balcony just might be him. But he certainly didn't sound like a villain.

Roxanne reached down for the hammer she'd left on her bed and tip-toed to the balcony doors. She peeked around and saw a large motorcycle like no other she'd seen before. In front of the shining black machine was a figure donned in a long black cape, the high collar blocked off where a head should have been. Roxanne took in a deep breath; calling out to him in what she hoped was a brave voice.

"Can I help you?" okay so she came off a bit ruder than intended, but it did the trick. The figure stood up in shock and whipped around. His actions scared her and she jumped herself, screaming, as the hammer fell to the ground with a clang.

The two stared off at one another. Roxanne was never one to judge a book by its cover, but she had not expected her intruder to be blue! Her eyes traveled down his lithe body and then back up; and she found herself mesmerized by his piercing green eyes. Never before had she seen eyes so bright and green. The blue man was struck in awe; this woman was positively beautiful! She was just his height, with short brown locks and amazing blue eyes. The light yellow colored sundress she wore hugged her womanly features, showing off her thin frame.

"Who are you?" she finally asked. She watched him as he blinked; he was trying to unroll his tongue. With a flurry he pointed one dramatic finger into the air, straightening himself into his full height. As he did she took in his full stature; his blue skin, his large head, his thin frame, the little strip of hair under his lip, and his electric green eyes.

"Ah-ha! I see you are new to the city! I am Megamind! Incredibly handsome criminal genius and master of all villainy!"

"Uh-huh…" her eyes trailed him up and down.

_Was this guy for real? _

"I'm Roxanne Ritchi, new reporter for KMCP News 8." _Why had she just shared that? _"Now if you don't mind, I'm busy unpacking and you're trespassing."

He smirked at her.

"The law has never stopped me before _Miss Ritchi_. Fortunately for you I have no dastardly plans this afternoon; I just need to make a quick repair and I'll be out of your hair."

_Since when was he so polite? Oh well, Minion was always trying to force manners into his thick skull, and she was awfully pretty. And she was new to the city; best to make a good first impression. _

He turned back to his bike, bending back down again. Metro Man had certainly hit it hard this time. He had only been lucky that his nemesis' laser vision hadn't completely torn the thing apart! He stood up again and made to turn for the balcony doors when his foot met resistance and, tangled up in his own cape, he fell.

He landed with a grunt, while another part of his massive brain picked up on a shout that was not his own. He gasped, quickly coming to his feet and all the same, grasping the woman he'd just toppled over to help her up.

"Oh! That was my fault! I told Minion to watch the length on this thi-" he stopped mid-sentence as he realized his close proximity to this Roxanne Ritchi. One arm was wrapped around her back, and his other hand was on her forearm. Her hands were on him as well; one on his shoulder, the other wrapped into the fabric of his shirt.

Their eyes met and the world froze.

She wasn't sure what it was; maybe she had bumped her head; but this close, she realized that this strange man was actually very handsome….okay more than that. He truly was _incredibly_ handsome. And there was just something about the whole leather-and-spike bad boy image that she found all the more attractive. Add that to the fact that he'd gone from villain to gentleman in a snap change, and she couldn't stop the strange fluttering in her stomach.

For the villain, time had stopped. This woman was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen before. Never before had a human female made his stomach flutter like this, nor his heart beat so quickly. And her eyes; so blue and deep. He felt as if he were looking into an ocean.

It felt as if they had been frozen that way for an eternity, when it all great reality it had barely even been a minute. Quickly they snapped back from each other, straightening out hair or clothes.

"Your tricks to stop me won't work on me, Temptress!" he exclaimed. Roxanne snorted back laughter, smirking at him.

"Tricks? To stop what? Stop you from leaving my balcony?"

"So you admit it then! My dastardly good looks have swept you off your feet! You know, no villain is complete without an evil queen." He looked to her, cocking an eyebrow up. His face melted into a sort of silky smoothness. Her heart jumped again at his expression.

He was smoldering!

At her!

A voice in the back of her brain kicked her back into her senses.

"Yea… good luck with that." She said as she watched him step forward towards her.

She backed up, feeling her back hit the table inside the room. He leaned into her and she was starting to worry just what he was up to when his arm reached under hers and then he snapped back and held up a simple screwdriver.

"Well then it appears I'll just need more time to persuade you. I'll just be taking this and be on my way. We shall meet again Miss Ritchi, for evil never rests!"

He turned, his cape billowing out behind him as he went. Roxanne stood in shock, watching him leave. He bent back over the strange bike, muttering to himself. He heard a clang behind him and turned to find a second screw driver on the ground behind him. He looked up, but the balcony doors were already closed. With a smirk he turned back around, making quick work of the bike. He swung a leg over and looked back to the doors.

"We shall meet again Miss Ritchi! Count on that!" he kick started the bike and Roxanne watched in awe as it took off into the air; she watched him as he became a distant dot in the sky.

She hadn't known what she was getting herself into when she moved here; but suddenly everything seemed much more exciting.

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><p><strong>love it? hate it? let me know! there's more coming your way! :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 Meeting a Hero

**Here we go! The next insert into our book of shorts!**

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><p><strong>Meeting a Hero<strong>

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><p>The first time that Roxanne Ritchi met Wayne Scott had been the first time that she had ever visited Metro City. She had come to the city on business; having just been offered a job at the news station in the city. By all technicalities she already had the job, but for fairness sake had to come for an official interview as well as to sign some documents. The moment that she had stepped into the office the entire crew had become enamored. She was extremely grateful for Reena; a college friend who had, behind her back, submitted the few tapes of her college reports that had gotten her the job. One look at her tapes and her extremely impressive resume and they were sold. However; Roxanne found herself more grateful when Reena pulled her away from the crowd of drooling tech men and outside into the fresh air.<p>

The two women walked along the sidewalks and were stopped when a large body appeared just in front of them. Roxanne took a moment to take in the man before her; he was tall with an unearthly broad chest and muscled arms to match; dark and perfectly coiffed hair, and a smile that Hollywood would kill for. For a moment, as she considered his muscles, she couldn't stop the words "steroids" as they passed around in her skull.

"Well hello there. I don't believe that we've met." He placed his hands on his hips and raised a singular eyebrow in what she assumed was supposed to be a debonair expression. "I'm Metro Man. And who might you be?"

"Roxanne Ritchi." She answered. Reena had told her that there was a hero in the city, but she hadn't actually believed that he would look like something out of a comic book.

"Roxie… I like it. And what's a pretty thing like you doing in Metro City?"

Already Roxanne found one thing to not like about him: he was cocky.

Arrogantly cocky.

As if he thought that he was a gift to the earth.

"I just got a job here actually…working for KMCP." She straightened her back and drew her face into a calm collected expression.

"Ah, I reporter? Well swell! Be sure to catch all my good stories, huh? Maybe I can take you out to dinner sometime? We can get to know each other better." He flashed another smile at her and she swore that the sun reflected off of his teeth.

"Maybe some other time; I need to get settled in first."

"Alright." He chuckled. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you again Roxie. Don't be a stranger now." And with a wink he took off into the air.

"It's Roxanne…" the reporter said under her breath. Reena nudged her in the side and laughed. Roxanne looked to her friend; the one and only person who was allowed to call her Roxie; part because they were such close friends and part because she knew that Reena would do it either way.

"Don't let him get to you Roxie, he's a block head. Although; you are probably the _only_ person that he has ever asked their name."

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><p>The second time that Roxanne met Metro Man was but a few short days after their original encounter. She had been headed home from the city to gather her belongings and make the move. She only lived about a day's drive out of the city but her clunker of a car had decided to give up just miles out of the city. It was a cheap old car that she had bought to get her to and from college, and had done the job well enough, but now it seemed that it had met its end. She sat at the side of a road with a dead car and an estimated pick up time of 6 hours from the towing company. She dug through one of her bags and found a nutrition bar and sighed grimly.<p>

_Well… either I can wait it out here; or I can walk back to the city. It'd only be a few hours…_

"Need a little help?" the voice came from behind her and she turned to see the same white-clad muscled man that she had met only days ago.

"My stupid car died." She replied; trying her best not to pout.

"Well then, it would seem like you're in the need of a lift."

"You mean you can fit in a car?" the comeback had flown from her lips before she'd even thought to stop it. He looked at her for a moment before he blinked and shook his head with a chuckle of amusement.

"Well… no; you're actually right about that one. But I don't really need a car; flying comes in handy that way."

Roxanne looked from him to her car and back as her brain clicked into place.

"Oh no…ohhhh no…no thank you." She remembered her manners.

"I promise I won't drop you. What kind of hero would I be if I did?" he laughed as if he had said the funniest thing in the world. "So you just get in and sit down, and you'll be home before you know it."

Roxanne looked to him again, sizing him up. She could do a lot worse she figured; and if he was going to kill her he would have done so already. Finally she sighed and accepted his offer; and with a few simple directions and a near heart attack from the shock of just how fast he was flying, Roxanne found herself home.

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><p>Nearly two weeks after Roxanne had moved to the city she had been given her very first live Metro Man report. As promised by Reena, there once again was action in Metro City. As Roxanne understood it, Megamind had invented some strange machine to try and defeat Metro Man with. The battle hadn't even lasted long enough for anyone to call in to the station; but the fight had nonetheless caused a bit of damage to a few local stores and the station wanted the story covered. And so Roxanne, along with her camera woman Christie, headed down to the scene.<p>

Roxanne took in the damage as soon as she exited the news van; a strange looking robot had clearly been thrown into a small strip mall and had fallen through the front walls. She glanced from the damage to the smiling hero and approached him, waving him her way.

"Metro Man! Could we get a word for KMCP?"

He smiled brightly as he saw her.

"Anything for the prettiest reporter in the city!" he swept his hand through his perfect hair and aimed a smile at the camera as soon as Christie called the cue.

"This is Roxanne Ritchi reporting live from downtown Metro City where I'm told hero Metro Man has just defeated Megamind." She gave her own smile to the camera. "So Metro Man; care to share what happened today?"

"Sure thing, Roxie. See, Megamind there had built some sort of crazy contraption trying to take over the city; but I don't think he could control cause it kept crashing into everything; that's where all that destruction there came from." He gave a hearty chuckle. "So I flew in, and a few quick hits later down she went and he went back to jail."

"So…you took down the robot?" she asked, something in the back of her mind had perked up.

"I sure did. And without a single scratch on me!" he winked at the camera.

"So then…couldn't you be blamed partly for the destruction to the mall? You were the one that pushed the robot there." She raised an eyebrow. Sure she didn't know Megamind; sure it was probably stupid to blame the hero on live television; but there was something in her that just would not sit back and let someone who shared the blame lay it all on one person.

"Well sure I was; I had to take the thing down somehow. Although technically; Megamind was the one that fell into it. He just had, what I'll call, a helping hand in falling back to justice." He chuckled again.

"So then _technically_ it's not all Megamind's fault."

Wayne stayed silent a moment and blinked at her before he let out a bark of a laugh.

"A comedian! You fellas at the station have picked the perfect gal for this report, I tell ya! No worries on the mall there Roxie, it'll be fixed in no time, and no one was hurt. And Megamind is back in jail where he belongs." Roxanne looked from Metro Man back to Christie who gave the slightest shake of her head. Roxanne sighed inwardly and aimed her glance at the camera once more.

"Well then… there you have it Metro City!" She wasn't going to keep this up on camera; and she'd be shocked if she even had a job left after this. "Metro Man has saved our city once more. This has been Roxanne Ritchi reporting live for KMCP 8."

The entire ride back Roxanne's stomach churned; she was fully expecting to walk in and be fired on the spot for insulting their hero. She had not expected for her boss Richard to shake her by the hand with a bright smile and tell her just how much their ratings had gone up in the single report. Already their inboxes had been flooded with emails asking just who this new girl was and stating just how much they loved the on-air chemistry the pair already had.

"Next time Metro Man's out there, we want you to report it Roxanne."

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><p>Next time for Roxanne came almost two weeks later.<p>

Her day had started with what was supposed to have been a report on the newly rebuilt strip mall. She instead found herself kidnapped by the same blue "villain" that had landed on her balcony only weeks ago.

And so when Metro man rescued her from a pit of hungry alligators and flew her back home, only after dropping Megamind back in jail, and he asked her to dinner once again, Roxanne found that she just couldn't say no. After all, how does one say no to a hero who just saved your life and whom your boss has demanded you gain rapport?

And on that Friday Roxanne gritted her teeth and went on what turned out to be the most boring date of her entire life.

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><p><strong>This ended up being a lot longer than I intended it to be. It could have been even longer actually, but I cut it here and there shall be a short on their date all by its onesie! <strong>


	3. Chapter 3 Becoming a Father

**It is not flesh and blood, but the heart, which makes us fathers and sons. (Johann Schiller)**

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><p><strong>Becoming a Father<strong>

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><p>David Pearce would never forget the day that a little alien baby landed in the jail yard and turned his whole world upside down.<p>

It was Christmas Eve, and a number of the inmates were enjoying the bit of fresh air outside before their yard time was up. David had only stepped outside into the chilly air to go for a coffee when he heard the startled shouts. He turned his gaze just in time to see a large…._something…._fly over the fence and crash land into the yard. The inmates had all stopped their game of basketball and weight lifting and had dropped their cigarettes to run over to the strange arrival.

The strange pod opened up to reveal a small blue infant inside; his arms were wrapped around what looked like a fish in a glass ball of water and between his lips was a strange glowing binky.

Joel, one of the kinder inmates, had scooped up the infant into his arms. He turned around in time for the Warden to walk up and he requested to be let back inside and for a few extra blankets. That was when the little baby turned his gaze to the Warden.

All it had taken was one look into those bright green eyes and David Pearce was sunk. He cleared his throat and looked to the man before him before he gently took the baby from his arms.

"I can take it from here."

"You sure about that Warden?" one of the other inmates chuckled "Last I knew you weren't a fan of kids!" he chuckled and was joined in by several of the other men. That much was true; the Warden had already had several run-ins with the "miscreants" of the city. Already he'd had his car egg-ed, t-p'd, and had seen several buildings and the parks t-p'd and covered in graffiti. All the same; he looked from the tiny child in his arms and then back to the men he'd watched over since he'd gotten the job only years earlier.

"I think I can handle a baby, Suarez."

By midnight the Warden Pearce was eating his words. The funny little blue baby had gone from giggling and cooing, to screaming. He flailed his little arms around and kicked his little feet.

"Kid, come on! Work with me here. What do you want?" he practically begged. "You've been changed, fed, rocked!" he sighed heavily. His eyes turned to the clock and knew that he had to surrender; and promptly walked out of his office and to the guard shack. It was there that he found the person he sought; Officer Keene. She was one of the few female officers at the prison, and David knew that she had a few children under her belt. And so when he walked into the shack with the screaming babe she shook her head and gave him a rather sympathetic smirk.

"He just has gas." She said as she took the baby into her arms and gently placed him over her shoulder. She rubbed his back in soothing circles and sure enough, up came a very loud burp. Instantly the crying stopped and he went back to coos. "There we are! All better!" she rocked him gently before handing him back to the stunned warden. He hadn't expected everyone to be so accepting of the clearly alien infant, but had been all the more grateful when they had been.

He returned to his office with a now sleepy looking baby in his arms. He looked around the room and shrugged. He practically lived in his office; he had no family to go home to, only a small little apartment that held no sentimental value for him. His office however was furnished with a couch, a very comfortable armchair and his desk of course.

"Well it's not the first night I've spent in this office." Being very careful of the baby he shrugged his jacket off and threw it on the desk. Slowly he sank back onto the couch as he kicked his shoes off. No sooner had he laid back that the baby cuddled into him, his green eyes closing as sleep began to overtake him. He hadn't let go of the strange fish all day long but now the orb sat on the coffee table and the Warden could have sworn that those large eyes were protectively following the baby with every move that the Warden made. The older man shrugged it off and looked to the little baby in his arms. There might have been a time when he'd wanted children; but his career and circumstance had prevented that. There had been one woman that he'd come close to marrying; but she'd grown short with his odd work hours and his ever growing cynicism. She swore that he would rather be married to his job and left him.

After that he'd grown withdrawn; he'd committed fully to his job and hadn't had a relationship since. Now though, as he looked to the little baby in his arms, he couldn't ignore that strange paternal feeling kicking in.

"Well looks like it's just the two of us Blue." He paused, looking down to the baby. "Huh…Blue..That's not so bad!" he smirked at his wit and if he had been paying attention he would have seen the fish on the table roll its eyes. Maybe it was fatherly instinct, maybe it was because he was an alien, or maybe it was because the child had an undeniable cuteness; but the Warden felt a need to protect this child from everything. From the government and the feds that lived off of these sorts of discoveries. It wouldn't be the most orthodox life; growing up in a prison, but it would be the safest; that much he knew. Already the guards and the inmates adored him and he knew that they would keep him safe as well. But already he felt a special connection to the baby; to his Blue.

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><p>"Blue! Get back here! Darnit kid!" the Warden ran after the toddling child who left soapy footprints in his wake. He caught the flash of a pair of tiny blue butt cheeks as they disappeared behind a corner and huffed, following in pursuit. He had been giving the kid a bath and had turned to reach for a jug to rinse his head when Blue had jumped from the tub and ran down the halls.<p>

"Haha Wah-Wah! You can' catch me!"

After he had landed in the prison yard and he'd been checked out by the prison physician, he'd been estimated to be only a week old. His awareness had stunned them of course, but had chalked it up to his being an extraterrestrial. Now however, as he chased the scheming little tot down the halls, David muttered out the words he'd already said too many times before; this kid was just too darn smart for his own good!

Those same words were once more repeated when a three-year old Blue had rigged up a tricycle out of old license plates and Lord knew what else and busted a hole through a wall of the prison.

"That was very dangerous Blue! You could have hurt someone. _You_ could have gotten hurt!" he said gruffly. The little child sat on the couch and looked up to the Warden, his little hands were folded in his lap and his face was the perfect mask of innocence.

"I don't want to see you do that again, do you understand me?"

"I sawwy…"

"No tools like that unless someone is watching, got it?" David said. He'd already realized that if the kid wanted something he would find a way to get it; and upon seeing how brilliant he was he didn't want to squash his creativity. It worried him; it truly did; how smart his little Blue was; but at the same time he couldn't extinguish the pride he felt at how smart his little boy was. He sat down on the couch and looked to Blue.

"Next time you want to go outside, you just ask, okay? You don't have to bust down the walls. And if it's raining, and I say no; I mean no. Got it?"

"Got it!" the little boy nodded. He looked up to the Warden, seeing the still angry expression on his face. The man had been near furious when he'd seen the damage that had been done, and that disproving look on his face as he looked down at the little boy had practically scared him to death. Little Blue had always been mischievous, but he'd never been in so much trouble with the Warden before.

And so, he put on his most adorable expression, stood up on his little feet, and wrapped his arms around the Warden's neck; burying his face there.

"I wuv you Papa."

Once more the Warden's tough exterior broke down and he sighed and wrapped his own arm around the tot. He could have teased the boy about sucking up not getting him anywhere, he could have told him that he was still in trouble; but he couldn't and he wouldn't.

Instead he would enjoy the perks of being a father; he sent one of the guards out for ice cream, and spent the night up late with his "smart little boy", watching movies and eating sundaes until they passed out on the couch.

Fatherhood can make you do a lot of crazy things; it can even make you forgive a kid when he drives a laser-powered trike through the prison walls. All the kid had to do was look at you with those green eyes and you couldn't stay mad at him. Parenthood has a funny way of doing that to you; no matter what the kid does, you'll always love them.

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><p><strong>Love? Hate? Let me know? :)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4 The First Kidnapping of RR

**The First Kidnapping of Roxanne Ritchi**

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><p>One moment she was climbing out of the news van to start a report on the re-opening of the strip mall, and the next she was groggily waking up with a bag over her head. Roxanne wasn't sure where she was; she had been just barely waking up when she felt something pick her up and carry her rather unceremoniously before setting her down into a chair. The voice that spoke sounded extremely familiar.<p>

"Well done Minion! Now that we have the perfect bait for Metro Mahn he'll have no choice but to come right into our trap!"

"Now Sir, I know that you think that this is a brilliant idea… but doesn't this count as kidnapping?"a second voice said.

"Pfft, a mere technicality Min-_yon_! You've seen the television! Every time there's a report, she's been there!"

"That was only a few times Sir…"

"And he smiled at her! And you heard the nice things she said!" came that familiar voice once more. What he had said held some truth; after their original television encounter Roxanne had been assigned to cover any crime that had occurred in the city as well as any good deed done by Metro Man. More often than not he had flown off with nothing more than a quick wave and a wink, but already the city had begun speculating about this new reporter and their hero. "It's the perfect plan! If she's caught his eye then those mindless drones of the city have surely noticed. And if they've noticed then there is no way that he will just leave her in our evil clutches! She makes the perfect bait!"

"Uhm hello? Right here ya know." She said, finally fed up with being talked about as if she weren't in the room. She heard the commotion of movement and then the bag was swiftly removed from her head.

"Miss Ritchi… we meet again." said the voice. She looked straight ahead and saw the same blue alien that had landed on her balcony only weeks ago.

"Oh it's you." She said, attempting to keep her voice indifferent. He began sputtering and his face turned a light shade of fuchsia.

"What do you mean _oh it's you? _You should be honored to be my kidnapping victim of choice! For I am Megamind! Incredibly handsome criminal genius and master of all villainy!" he pointed one dramatic finger into the air. "Scream all you want Miss Ritchi, I'm afraid that no one can hear you."

There came no scream.

He looked to her to see a skeptical look on her face; a singular eyebrow was raised above her blue eyes.

"I _said_, you can scream all you want!"

Still; there came no scream. Instead she sighed.

"Look, this has all been fun, but I have a job to get back to. I was _supposed_ to be doing a report on that mall that got destroyed."

"Mall?"

"You remember the one sir! Where the mega-bot got tossed! Miss Ritchi here blamed Metro Man on live television!"

Roxanne turned her head and bit back a gasp. There standing next to her was a large metallic robot body with a furry chest. She realized that he looked like a gorilla; and then she saw the glass dome on top with a peculiar fish swimming around inside. She realized that this fish was the one who was speaking. He smiled brightly to her and there was something oddly friendly about him.

"You did wonderfully Miss Ritchi!"

"Uh…thanks?"

"Oh! Where are my manners! I'm Minion!" he offered a large metal hand to shake, before realizing that she was tied up. He slowly dropped his hand and attempted to recover with a smile. "Although I have to say you might want to be more careful next time Miss Ritchi; you don't want to make Metro Man angry, he could hurt you!"

"Him? Hurt me? Isn't your hero?" it was not lost on either men when there was a bitter taste to her words as she spoke.

"All the same Miss Ritchi." He smiled politely to her.

"Minion! This is not the time to be making friends with our victim!"

"Sorry boss!" Minion winced.

"Now, if we can all get back to business?" Megamind's eyes twitched from Minion to Roxanne. They remained silent and he nodded his large head. "Thank you. Minion! Prepare the monitors! It's time to call your boyfriend in tights!" he said to Roxanne.

"Yeah, about that? He's not my boyfriend."

"There's no point in trying to protect him Miss Ritchi."

"Yeah right." She snorted in amusement. "Like he'd really need me to protect him."

She watched as Megamind brought a large monitor to life; a few smaller ones on either side showed her a shot of the room they were in as well as other points in the city. Below the monitors was a large panel of buttons and switches and for a moment she wondered just what they were all for.

"Citizens of Metrocity!" he greeted.

_Metrocity? Really? _

From the large screen Roxanne could see the city square; a couple of the smaller monitors showed side streets of the city. The citizens around either ran in fright or cried out their boo's.

"You are in luck! For today I wish none of you harm; instead I'm calling directly for you _Metro Mahn! _You see; I think I've found a little something of yours." Megamind moved aside to reveal Roxanne. In the blink of an eye Metro Man flew in front of the main screen of the square.

"Roxie!"

"That's right Metro Mahn! I've got your little reporter in my grasp! And you'd better hurry, because she doesn't have long." He reached forward and pulled down a lever. Around her the floor opened up to reveal a deep pit with snapping alligators at the bottom; leaving her chair on but a small pedestal above them. "My friends here are _very hungry_. Ciao now!" Another press of a button and the screens went dark.

"You're not actually going to feed me to them, are you?" Roxanne asked.

"Why don't you _hang around_ and find out?" he pulled on a lever from the same large panel behind him. Her chair lurched and she came to realize then that not only was she tied into the chair, but her chair itself was also tied to a rope; and that very same chair was now dangling above those hungry looking alligators. She watched as the pedestal disappeared into the floor below. She looked to the blue villain then.

"But those are alligators!"

"Yes yes… I _was_ going to use piranhas, but Minion wouldn't hear of it!" he said in a bored fashion.

"You can't do this! This is...evil!"

"Exactly! And I am the greatest evil villain known to man! You'd better start hoping that Metro Mahn shows up Miss Ritchi…" the ropes began to lower her a foot before stopping again.

Suddenly there was a great crash and Roxanne felt herself ripped from the chair. She found herself in the arms of Metro Man before he placed her on the ground and stood in front of her in what was probably supposed to be a protective gesture; but came across as more pompous than heroic.

"Your time is up Megamind!"

"The clock of evil never stops ticking!"

"It does when the bells of justice chime!"

"But only until the hammer of evil crushes it!"

"Justice can never be crushed! It's an ideal, not an item!"

"Are they always like this?" Roxanne asked Minion.

"They've actually gotten much better." The fish rolled his eyes. "Cupcake?" he offered. She noticed then that he held a tray of cupcakes and wondered when he had whipped them up. She wasn't entirely sure if she could trust him; he was a villian's henchman after all. But he seemed sweet; and they did smell delicious. One bite and she was hooked.

"These are delicious!"

"Minion! What are you doing? We do not feee!" Megamind's words were cut off as he was snatched by the cape by Metro Man. In a blink Roxanne was lifted as well; albeit in a more respectful manner than Megamind. In a more frightful flight than the lift home had been, Roxanne found herself flying through the air; first to drop Megamind off at the prison's gates to awaiting guards, and then back to the city square.

"Here ya go Roxie; safe and sound again." Metro Man smiled broadly.

"Yeah… thanks." She forced back an irritated huff and attempted to fix her hair. She looked around and became aware of the crowd of people coming their way. Her eyes searched frantically for Christie, or at least the news van.

"So now that I've saved you…_again…_how about that dinner? I'll take you anywhere you like." He said.

Roxanne was stuck; how do you say no to someone who just saved your life and when there's a crowd of people who think that you've got "chemistry" with said person eagerly awaiting your answer. And so Roxanne gritted her teeth and sighed before she nodded her head.

"Sure…Saturday at 7?"

"See you then." He winked at her before taking off into the skies and leaving her to the crowd full of questions.


	5. Chapter 5 The First Date

**The First Date**

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><p>The first date of Roxanne Ritchi and Wayne Scott would go down in history as one of the most boring and possibly worst first dates in the history of first dates.<p>

At 7 pm sharp he showed up at her door. Roxanne was surprised to find that instead of his normal hero attire he had dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a cream colored sweater. He greeted her with a single red rose and a large smile. As they walked down the hall the lights caught his sweater and she had to do a double take.

For in the sweater, almost too hard to see if you weren't looking properly, were gold pinstripes.

_Well, he managed to keep the white and gold in there…_

Roxanne herself had torn through her closet earlier that day. She didn't want to look as if she was trying too hard, but she also didn't want to look as if she didn't care. She had finally settled on a simple black pencil skirt and a white top paired with her black heels.

As she had expected they flew to their destination; and their destination just so happened to be a rather fancy 5-star restaurant set in the heart of the city. Already Roxanne was expecting a dinner full of stares, comments and photographs.

"Ah yes, your normal table then?" the maître d' asked as the muscled man approached him. Metro Man nodded his head in the affirmative.

"You got it." He said.

Roxanne soon found herself on the rooftop, where there was a table set with full silverware and a candle.

"_This_ is our table?" she asked. She wondered if he was trying to impress her or if this was how it always was for him.

"It's more private than down inside. And the boys here are always happy to serve my dinner up here, isn't that right?" Metro Man directed his question to the older man who had led them upstairs.

"Always a pleasure sir." 

As their drinks and entrees were served quicker than Roxanne had ever had before she vaguely thought that maybe there were a few perks to going on a date with a super hero.

At least, that was until that super hero began talking.

About himself.

In the course of their dinner he talked about himself; about his wealthy summer trips with his parents, about his childhood, about the crazy fan mail that he had received over the years, on and on he went. All the while Roxanne could only think_ "spoiled; boring; spoiled."_ He had finally paused to take a drink and she took the opportunity to jump in. She found it very strange to be out to dinner with someone whose name she did not know.

"So…Metro Man? Is there a real name that comes with that moniker?" she asked.

"Well of course there is." He laughed. "I can't believe I didn't tell you sooner! Wayne Scott." He smiled proudly, as if the name itself was golden.

"Don't most heroes keep their names a secret?" Roxanne pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"Well sure, but I figure; what's the point? I've lived here all my life, people knew my real name when I was a kid; I just grew into a new one! No one would ever call me Wayne anyway." He smirked, as if he was proud at the thought of being known as a label instead of a person.

"So how'd this all start then? The hero business?" she asked. It was something that she actually was curious about.

"I'm not sure I remember really." He scratched his neck. "Guess I just sort of fell into it all. I mean, I was sorta meant to be a hero wasn't I? The flying and the lasers…"

"So you became a hero because you can fly?"

"Hah, well no, I guess that's not it. Someone had to protect the city and I was the man for the job." He said. They'd barely touched the desserts that had been set down in front of them, clearly now too involved in their conversation.

"So wait; you've been protecting the city since you were a kid?" she found that very hard to believe. He'd already explained briefly that he'd had a lot of friends as a child and that the teacher loved him and he'd always use his flight for little things like changing the light bulbs, getting cats down from trees. He however had not explained how everything had started between him and Megamind; only that it'd been "going on for years."

"Heck no. Blue just sorta…well the kid was always different. He chose his path and I chose mine; that's all." He took a large bite then of the chocolate cake in front of him. Since she started driving the conversation he'd been steered into answering things that he hadn't wanted to and now he had to get out of it.

"I think I've done a pretty good job of it though; clean up the city, protect the citizens, put the villain in jail. Everyone loves me and at the end of every day I'm their hero." He smiled again.

"It doesn't seem like you're doing a very good job if he keeps escaping" she said pointedly. Wayne looked at her a moment before breaking into a laugh.

"The thing of it is Roxie; it's all in good fun. Keeps me in a job anyway."

"So you let him keep escaping to stay in a job? Couldn't you be doing other things?"

"Like what?"

"Well attending to other crimes! What about that break in at the jewelry department last week?"

"That's what the police are for. They need work too Rox." He said. He was baffled as to why she was so confused over everything.

"So that's how it goes then? You fight Megamind, create messes that can be just as much your fault as his, drop him back in jail, lather, rinse, repeat?"

"Hey now, I don't make all of those messes, and anything that happens I pay for to get fixed!" he defended himself.

"Oh yes, we can't forget about the spoiled little boy's money!" she sat back and crossed her arms and he stared back. "You know, I'm actually kind of tired, I think that I'd like to go home now."

As luck would have it, no sooner did the pair step onto the sidewalk outside of the building and they were instantly swarmed by the media. Wayne smiled at them and politely excused himself and Roxanne, stating that it was late and he needed to "be a gentleman and make sure that she got home safely" before he flew away with her in his arms.

The damage however had been done. For the next morning, plastered across every newspaper and tabloid, was a picture of Metro Man and Roxanne Ritchie flying off and the titles all shared the same suggestion.

"Hero and Reporter romance?"; "Metro Man and Roxanne Ritchi Dating?"; "New Romance blossoms in Metro City!"

When Roxanne sat down at her desk that morning at work she sunk her head down and wished that she could crawl into a hole. That was, however, until Richard ran up to her and babbled on about how high their ratings had gotten and sent her off to report on the latest Megamind vs Metro Man battle.

_Well, I can't avoid him forever...at least I won't have to talk to him for long this time._ she thought to herself. At that particular time she wasn't fond with Wayne Scott at all, and would prefer to avoid him at all costs; but a job was a job, and bad date or no, she had to do that job. Besides; how does anyone avoid a man who can see through lead?


	6. Chapter 6 Predictable

**Hello again all! I'm sincerely loving the reviews that I have been getting from everybody :) Reviews telling me how much you've enjoyed something I've written always makes me happy because it let's me know that somebody has enjoyed my work! :) I hope you all like this little blippit! :)**

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><p><strong>Predictable<br>**

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><p>Roxanne began to come to and she found herself in that strangely smelly darkness once again. The bag was removed from her head and she took in a breath of the fresh air.<p>

"Seriously guys, how hard is it to throw that thing in the laundry?"

"Miss Ritchi, we meet again." He greeted her; the same as he always did. Roxanne sighed and tried not to roll her eyes.

"So what do we have today?" she asked. "Alligators? Boot wheel of death? Lasers?"

"I'm afraid you're going to be sorely disappointed Miss Ritchi! For I've created something of pure ee-ville!" he pulled a lever and a strange looking gun covered in spikes unfolded it's self from the floor and pointed at her.

"Oh look…a laser." She said sarcastically.

"_Not_ just any laser! This gun will follow your every movement; it is targeted to you by your DNA, and all from a single tiny strand of your hair." He smiled proudly at the gun.

"So…it's just another laser then?" she said before scoffing. "You are so predictable!"

"Predictable? _I'm_ predictable?"

"Yes…predictable. You know, it's that boring thing where it's really easy to figure out what you're going to do next?"

"I know what it means, Miss Smarty Pants! Well if I'm so predictable why don't you tell me what's the next step in my plan?" he challenged her. Roxanne looked around the room for a minute before she smiled confidently and locked her eyes back on his.

"Easy! You're going to call Metro Man, he's going to bust in here, and as soon as he does that gun is going to whip around on him and shoot at him."

"_That…_is actually correct." Megamind practically deflated in front of her.

"Oh very good Miss Ritchi!" Minion smiled.

"Which, by the way, wouldn't work. You should know that by now."

"That's what I tried telling him Miss Ritchi."

"Minion!" the blue man yelled, causing Minion to flinch. They both expected Megamind to yell at the fish for rooting for Roxanne. Instead he sighed, and pulled the lever back down to disengage the gun. When he spoke again his voice was oddly calm. "Take Miss Ritchi back home and then come back, we have some serious planning to do."

"Wait, that's it?" Roxanne asked incredulously. She'd rarely been released so quickly and so easily in the last year that she'd been getting kidnapped. However she soon woke up on her couch in her apartment; Minion always did know how to make sure she was comfortable when he dropped her off back home. She wasn't sure how long she had until her next kidnapping; on the occasion that one failed completely, such as today, she would be left waiting; sometimes for a few days, sometimes a week.

Roxanne sat on her balcony, a glass of wine rested on the ledge next to her chair. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm breeze that passed over her.

"Well well well Miss Ritchi, we meet again."

Roxanne snapped her head up and looked around. There on her balcony, leaning against the brick wall, stood Megamind. She hadn't heard him come up; she hadn't even heard the engine of his bike nor was it sitting there.

"What; have you been hiding up here all this time? When did you even sneak in?" she asked. He chuckled and shook his head. He slowly stepped towards her.

"Not so predictable now, am I?" he raised a singular eyebrow and his lips turned into that ever confident smirk. Once more; Megamind was smoldering. He'd knelt down next to her chair and a finger ghosted up the side of her leg as he grasped her armrest for support.

"Oh no; you're still predictable." Roxanne said. His face was close; too close; but she couldn't back away. It was as if she were being held there by a magnet.

"Oh really? How about now?" and he leaned in and kissed her. Right there on her balcony. She lived too high up for anyone to see anything, and the cover of night hid them all the more. She sat frozen for a moment, shocked that this was actually happening.

He just barely began to pull away when she returned a hint of pressure, and his lips came fully back. A strange warm tingle passed through her and she couldn't hold back; she returned his kiss, her lips meeting his soft blue ones in a tender embrace. He slowly pulled away from her, keeping his face so close to hers that their noses brushed. After a silent moment he let out a breathy chuckle and his green eyes met hers.

"Not so predictable anymore, am I?" his voice was low as he spoke.

Roxanne awoke with a jump and she sat up and looked around her dark room.

_It was all a dream…_

She looked towards her clock and saw that it was just barely after 3 in the morning. With a huff she plopped back down to into her bed and ran a hand down her face.

_I have got to stop eating so late at night…_

Still, she couldn't stop herself from bringing a hand up and tracing the lips that had been captured so sweetly in her dream.

"_They have a name for this sort of condition_." A voice in her head spoke.

"_This was only a dream. It-" She_ stopped herself. "They have a name for people who talk to themselves too. It was a dream…just a dream. People dream about crazy things all the time." She tried to convince herself. No matter what she told herself, she knew that the next kidnapping was going to be very awkward.


	7. Chapter 7 Sick Day

**Sick Day**

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><p>"Good morning, Miss Ritchi!" Minion greeted as he entered her apartment. He'd picked the lock once more and disengaged the disguise as soon as he had shut the door. It was the normal routine when kidnapping her from her apartment during the daytime; use a disguise, pick the lock, spray and go. The boys had been working on putting the invisibility generator into the watch but had been running into problems and so continued to use various faces they'd found over time as their disguises.<p>

The robot fish spotted a pair of feet hanging off the edge of the couch and made his way around it.

"I think you'll like this newest spray the boss came up with! It smells like pineapples! Now-oh…" he paused as he took in the view before him. "Miss Ritchi, are you feeling quite alright?"

Roxanne was curled up on the couch; she was a sickly pale with dark bags under her eyes. A hot water bottle rested over her stomach while a cloth lay draped over her forehead.

"Can we just cancel today Minion?" her voice cracked as she curled in on herself and looked up at him miserably. She'd been feeling slightly off for the past few days but had woken up feeling like death. She'd hated to do it but had called in to the station and used up one of the many sick days that she had acquired over the past two and a half years of working there. She hated to miss work but she could barely blink without her head feeling as if it were splitting. And of course there was her stomach to contend with.

Minion went into instant doctor mode and placed a single metal finger on her forehead. After years of tending to Megamind he'd insisted on having some sort of sensors placed into the metal hands. It had been but a few seconds before he pulled his hand back as if he had been burnt.

"Miss Ritchi, you're burning up! That's it, there's no way we're going on with the plan today. Have you had anything to drink?" he asked. Roxanne shook her head but a fraction. This set Minion into action; he knew that he would catch hell for taking so much time in getting back to the Evil Lair, but those guardian instincts were kicking in. He set to making a pot of tea for Roxanne, and set the mug down on the coffee table in front of her.

"You just rest up Miss Ritchi, I'll tell the boss that today is off."

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><p>Megamind sat hunched over a worktable and did not turn when he heard Minion approach.<p>

"There you are Minion! What took so long-" he paused as he spun around, and he was confused as to why there was an obvious lack of a certain reporter over a certain hench-fish's shoulders. "Where is Miss Ritchi?"

"She's…home Sir. She's sick, so I thought maybe we'd….give her a sick day?" he said. Megamind studied his friend for a moment before he laughed.

"Oh very funny Min_-yon!_ A very funny April _fewls_ joke!"

"But…it's November sir."

"Where is she? The back seat?" he opened the car door to find it empty. His head turned back to Minion. "Really Minion, where is she?"

"I told you Sir; she's sick. She needs her rest."

"You dimwitted creation of science! We do not give sick days!" Megamind turned and swung a leg over the jet-bike as he kick started it to life. It was not long before he landed on the familiar balcony and pushed the doors open.

"Miss Ritchi, perhaps you have become confused about our arrangements, but let me assure you that evil does not grant sick days!" he looked down on the reporter. Roxanne had barely moved since Minion left except to sip at the tea that he had made. It had helped to soothe her stomach and sinuses, but she still felt exhausted and achy. Megamind's eyes scanned over her face and he saw just how pale and tired she looked. She coughed meekly and covered her mouth with the blanket that she was wrapped up in. She was so sick she'd forgotten to even attempt to be sarcastic.

"Think you can make an exception for today?" she croaked. He grimaced as he looked down at her. She looked positively miserable; so very different from the spunky vivacious spirit that he had grown so used to.

"Evil is not prone to acquiescing to their victim's requests. But I suppose… just this once. But don't expect this type of treatment all the time, Miss Ritchi." He sighed and went to turn but was stopped as his eyes caught the kettle of tea. "I'd drink that while it's still hot. Minion's tea can fix any sickness…but it tastes awful once it's cold." He smirked and left the reporter alone once more.

When evening rolled around Roxanne was woken up by a light tapping at her window. She slowly rolled from the couch and opened the window to let in the waiting brain bot. She was confused as to why the strange creation had come to her apartment, and for a moment she worried that she was about to be kidnapped. That was; at least; until she saw the strange little lunch pail that hung from its claws. It seemed to be waiting expectantly and she hesitantly reached out and took the pail. She placed it on the coffee table and slowly opened it to find a steaming thermos of fresh soup inside with a note on top.

_"Some fresh homemade soup will help, be sure to eat it all._

_But don't tell the boss!"_

Roxanne smirked as she read the note. Minion was funny that way; he was so good at spilling Megamind's secrets and yet so good at keeping hers. She also knew the risk he had taken by sending her the soup and was grateful towards him. She'd have to find some way or another to thank him. As she opened the thermos and she realized just how hungry she was. She took a slow sip of the delicious soup. Over time she'd learned what a knack Minion had for cooking and was glad that he had such a skill. Sometimes she swore that if it wasn't for take-out, microwaves and Minion's sneaking her treats at the kidnappings that she would surely starve. She barely found time to cook anymore. Her eyes turned upwards as the brain bot bowged at her and flew out of the open window. She closed it quickly before the cold could get in and then sunk down into her couch, enjoying the warm delicious soup while her appetite lasted.

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><p>It was nearly two weeks later that Roxanne found herself kidnapped once more.<p>

"Miss Ritchi, we meet again. Feeling better I trust?"

"Well I _was_. Would it kill you to wash that bag?" she replied in the familiar sarcastic tone she'd reserved especially for him. Her eyes flashed to Minion for but a second and she offered him a thankful smile before her attention was diverted back to Megamind.

He continued on with some long-winded monologue about his newest plan and she cut in with her normal witty retorts.

_Well, sick days can't last forever. Back to business as usual._

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><p><strong>So, as of late I've really been considering writing a sequel to What They've Needed All Along. I have a few ideas but I'm wondering if I should expand on them and write one large sequel, or just keep them as one-shots and mini-stories for this story here. Opinions?<strong>_  
><em>


	8. Chapter 8 Why Did I Have To Be Blue

**There's something about the whole father/son relationship between David and Megamind that just won't leave me alone.. soo.. I think I'll keep writing little one-shots! Oh and I definitely have a few chapters already written that I'm holding off on posting, and I have an idea in the works for a very Minion/Megamind based one-shot! P.S. If you're here and just joining might I suggest going and reading my story What They've Needed All Along. That is the universe that this story is deriving from**

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><p><strong>Why Did I Have to be Blue?<strong>

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><p>David Pearce felt like he should have known that there was something wrong with that school the day his little Blue came home with a large bruise over his eye. But Blue had put on a brave face and explained that he had simply fallen down.<p>

It wasn't but a few weeks later that David was called over to the school to find that this time the boy had a broken arm. The teacher dismissed it as a bit of "rough housing that had gone too far" between his boy and the Scott boy. David was skeptical and it had taken hours of coaxing to get Blue to tell him the truth; they had been playing dodge ball and he had been the target. The Warden had heard about Wayne Scott's unusual talents but he was absolutely furious that the teacher had let a simple playground game get so violent.

When he had approached her about it the next day she gave him a rather unpleasant smile and told him that "Wayne Scott just underestimated his strength."

David knew it was a load of crap but upon Blue's begging he let it slide. He wanted for the boy to fit in, or at least survive. But the kid just kept acting as if it didn't bother him. He'd watched countless times as Blue had come up with some idea or another to impress his classmates and then come home with the same defeated look on his face after something had gone wrong. He'd always bounced back though and the Warden admired the resilience that the boy had.

It did not go unnoticed, however, when one of the inmates; a man who Blue called an "uncle", gave the little boy a few maneuvers on how to get out of a headlock or when someone twisted his arm behind his back.

Late one night David made his way past the boy's "room" and stopped as he heard the conversation going on inside. It was already hard enough on him that Blue had opted to sleep in a cell.

_One night when he was even younger Blue had been confused as to why his "Uncles" slept inside their cells and weren't allowed the soft couch that was in the Wardens office, or the soft bed he would only occasionally sleep on on those rare nights that David actually went back to his apartment and took Blue with him. It had been difficult to explain to the little boy with such innocent eyes that there were people in the world who could do bad things. _

"_Sometimes people make bad choices… and they have to make up for those bad things." He had explained. _

"_Well then…I want to sleep in a cell too! It's only fair." Blue said with determination. The Warden had been unable to sway him otherwise and instructed the guards to place a new mattress and cot into the empty cell that they had been thus far using as a reading and play room for Blue. _

David stood just to the side of the cell and listened hard for the whispers that floated into the night air.

"I don't understand Minion…why don't they like me?"

"They just don't understand you…"

"You sound just like Warden..." he said. David could see the boy pouting in his mind.

"Don't worry Sir, we'll think of something really great, and then they'll _have_ to like you!" Minion said. David admired the little fish's optimism. But he couldn't kick that nagging voice in the back of his head that it wouldn't work that way, and he knew that the same voice was nagging Minion as well.

He'd learned long ago how wise the little sentient fish truly was. He seemed young but was wise beyond his years. He was glad for the little fish; glad that his boy had at least one friend in the world. He knew that school would be a struggle from the moment he'd enrolled the boy, but he never imagined that it would be this hard; not in the type of school that it was!

As he made to turn away he heard something the damn near broke his heart;

"Why did I have to be blue?"

Instantly the Warden was brought back to another time when he had heard those same words.

_A little eight year old Blue looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. He had yet to make friends in the school and had instead become the target of bullying and teasing. Several of his uncles, the guards, and David had all tried to convince Blue that sometimes it just took time to make new friends. _

_"Well I don't want it to take time! I don't want to be different! I don't want to be blue anymore!" he stomped his feet. "Why am I so different? Why did I have to be _blue_?" his piercing green gaze met the Warden's eyes and the man sighed. He couldn't come up with an answer for the upset boy and instead hugged him tightly and told him that he was special and that he should never want to be anything other than who he was. _

_From then on however, the Warden tried his best to call him as his given name that Minion had told him his parents had given him, or the nickname a few of the inmates had called him that had become his middle name on his birth certificate. "Mykael Lee Pearce." All the papers were in a folder in David's filing cabinet. Maybe he should have squashed the "Blue" nickname long ago; but the boy had never seemed to mind it before. Right now though, with the boy feeling so insecure about his own skin color, David felt that maybe it wasn't the best idea to use a nickname that pointed it out. __He should have told him to be proud of how he was and who he was, but right then that broken little boy didn't need arguments or __convincing; he needed his daddy._

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><p>"Hold still kid, will ya?" the Warden said as he struggled to get a jacket on the excited ten-year old.<p>

"It's field trip day Warden! Can't I go now?"

"Just let me zip you up. It's chilly this morning." David wasn't entirely sure about letting Mykael go on a field trip with his class; but he couldn't bring himself to say no to those pleading green eyes. "Now behave and listen to the teacher and don't wander off by yourself, got it?"

"Got it!" the little boy smiled and turned to run out of the office and to meet the waiting guards at the gate.

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><p>It was nearly nightfall and the Warden was growing more worried by the minute. That field trip had to have returned hours ago and still there was no sign of Mykael He'd been pacing near the gates and was growing frustrated. The teacher had seemed unconcerned when he finally found her.<p>

"He must have wandered off. That's why we can't have _jailbirds_ in our school." She sniffed.

"He's a_ boy_! I'm putting him under your watch for a few hours a day, the least you could do is at least keep an eye on him." He said gruffly before he stormed away from her. He should have called her in; he should have gone back and told her exactly what he thought about her school. But he did what he really should have done and took to searching for his little boy.

He remembered vaguely hearing on the news about an old building in the more rundown district of the city collapsing, and though he tried to ignore it, he couldn't kick the nagging feeling that that was where he needed to go.

When he finally turned down the street he needed to be on he was stopped by a roadblock. He left his car but stopped as he overheard a news reporter;

"Witnesses say that they saw a fight between a strange blue child and a flying boy…" David didn't stick around to here anymore; he rushed towards the taped off area and choked as he saw the wreckage. The top floors had caved in; leaving a cloud of dust that lingered in the air.

He rushed forward, ducking under the caution tape, but was stopped by a police officer.

"Sorry Sir, but you can't go in there."

David looked the man up and down. He'd never met him before; but then again he hadn't met many of the police in the city. He quickly grew frustrated as he tried again to get past the man.

"Don't you tell me where I can't go! That's my boy in there!" he shoved the man's arm away and hurried on ahead. His worry grew when the fire fighters exited the rubble and reported that no one was inside. His mind wracked itself before he thought of another place that his boy might be. Without another word, David hurried to his car and sped off.

It had been an agonizing drive over; and the Warden yanked his car into park and hurried towards the doors of the Observatory. He stopped just inside and looked around, squinting through the darkness. He heard a quiet sniff off to one side.

"Lee?" He knew that his boy preferred Lee over Mykael for the most part; he felt as if his given name needed to be protected. David heard another sniffle and fumbled on his key ring for the small flashlight that hung there and flashed its beam towards the spot he'd heard the sniffle. A pair of green eyes stared back at him and he walked over; relieved to have finally found him.

He was dirty and there was a good sized bruise forming on his cheek. His clothes were torn and the look on his face was the most dejected that the Warden had seen to date. He would save the lecture about running away for later; for now he just wanted to get the kid home and washed up. He stooped down to pick up his boy and turned to walk out of the building. The tired cold little boy buried his head into the older man's shoulder.

"I don't wanna go back to school anymore…"

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><p><strong>sad puppy dog eyes :( <strong>

**so where did Lee come from? Well... go watch Megamind; and be sure to have the volume up. Now; go to the scene at the beginning where the Warden has strapped the watch on and it makes him look like Megamind. As he passes a set of cells I'm nearly 100% sure that an innmate can be heard yelling "Hey Lee!". I'm just assuming that this is Megamind's name. But seeing as in my What They've Needed All Along ****story I gave him the name of Mykael, I figure that Lee would make a good middle name/secondary nick name. :) **


	9. Chapter 9 The Scheme

**thanks for all the great reviews guys! I dunno what I did to make my hit/views count explode like it has today but hot dog I'm one happy gal! :D :D **

**This will be my last chapter for the night; I've already stayed up much later than I intended to! **

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><p><strong>The Scheme<strong>

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><p>Metro Man landed gracefully on Roxanne's balcony and gently placed her feet back on the ground. Once more he'd rescued her from Megamind's clutches; this time it had been in an old abandoned building and had involved a peculiar set of robots that had been crudely styled to look like Megamind. Instead of following his orders however they had gone haywire and attacked each other, causing an explosion.<p>

"Hey Roxie, can I pick your brain about something?" he scratched at his neck; a sure sign that he was nervous. She raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Can it wait a moment while I wash up? That explosion got my clothes all full of dirt."

"Yea… sure…no problem." He cleared his throat and followed her inside. He watched as she walked towards her bedroom.

"There's lemonade in the fridge." She called out to him. When she came back out, in fresh clothes, she found that he had not even moved.

"Okay hero…what's got you so worried?" she sat down on the couch and it seemed to loosen him up; at least enough to get him to sit on the other end of the couch.

"Well, see; there's this dinner thing coming up, it's kind of silly really. But I'm supposed to be there, and being the hero it'd just look silly to go alone. And well, we've been…friends…for a little while now and-"

"And you need a date." Roxanne finished for him. Her voice held no venom or accusation, but rather a simple statement.

It was true; what he'd said. After their first disastrous date Wayne had seemed to try to work harder to get her on his side. She'd agreed rather begrudgingly to go on a few other dates with him and found that they surprisingly had a few common interests.

She was even more surprised when, on one afternoon when he'd come to her apartment for coffee, his boisterous hero mask slipped and he fell into a more calm manner. Without a watching crowd around he seemed relaxed and less self-focused. If Roxanne were honest, she liked him better this way, and had told him so.

After that they had attempted a few real dates; this time with Wayne acting as Wayne Scott and not Metro Man the hero. And even though Wayne could be charming and funny and they had a lot in common, Roxanne just didn't feel attracted to him. He just wasn't her type.

She'd had to break the news to him; she was glad to have him as a friend, but wouldn't be able to be more with him. He had been crushed at first, and had made a few more attempts. But eventually he gave in and accepted his fate. He found himself glad to call Roxanne a friend; the hero life was a lonely one and she was growing to be the best friend that he could ask for.

He only hoped that they were good enough friends that she would pull him a favor like this.

"It's not such a bad idea." Roxanne said. He almost missed it in his reverie and looked up to her.

"Huh?"

"I said that it's not such a bad idea. It's actually a really good idea. Between the two of us we have more social events to go to than the president himself." She smirked. "And those events usually call for dates. If we go together all the time we're guaranteed to at least have a decent time. None of that awkward first date nerves we'd have with someone we don't know. Besides; most everyone already thinks that we're dating, might as well make it look good."

"But… I thought we weren't dating." He raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. Roxanne smiled at him impishly. Through their friendship, short though it had been so far, Wayne had learned that Roxanne had a rather mischievous side, as did he.

"And we're not. But they don't have to know that. They just have to _think_ it."

"I…don't follow."

"Look, the thing is; I'm too busy to date right now, and I'm not too interested in dating right now as it is…" she drifted off for a moment, not wanting to delve back into that story. There had been one night already, a few months back, when she'd had a near complete emotional breakdown and told Wayne of a bad past relationship and that she needed her time to heal.

"And I'd sure like to get my mother off of my back." He chuckled, partly to bring her out of her darker thoughts. For years now his mother had been bugging him to find a nice girl; and once Roxanne had come into the picture that had been the end of it. She had been nonstop nagging him ever since. He had finally snapped one day and told her that he was too busy saving the city to think about his love life and if that was all she was going to bug him about then he was going to change his number. She'd lightened up since then but still managed to drop hints from time to time.

"Exactly! So; if we go to social events together, and keep up our charisma on screen like we have been, the rest will all just fall into place. It's perfect for the fan base for you, and for the station ratings; ergo keeping the both of us in a job. And of course we'll still hang out together like normal." The fact that this would purely be friendship and nothing more did not need to be voiced; it was already known.

"And what about when people ask about our relationship?" he asked.

"We neither confirm nor deny it." That impish smile still played on her lips. He studied her a moment before he blinked and broke out into a chuckle.

"Roxie, you're a genius."

"I know." She shrugged and got up a grab a glass for lemonade. She quickly came back with one for him as well and she raised it in a toast. "To one of the greatest schemes that this city will ever see." She said. Wayne raised his glass as well and gently tapped it against hers.


	10. Chapter 10 Becoming A Villian Part 1

**Thanks for all your fantastic reviews and support! It means so much to get everyone's feedback and know what you were all thinking and how you were feeling! Thanks so much and please continued the fantastic reviews! :) **

**This chapter was pretty difficult to write; not story wise but.. well... you'll see :)**

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><p><strong>Becoming A Villain – Part 1<strong>

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><p>Nearly two weeks after the field trip fiasco, little Mykael had been sent to the corner of the schoolhouse once more.<p>

It had taken a lot of convincing, a near hour of tears and screaming, and a bribe of ice cream for dinner before the little boy finally agreed to go back to school. David wasn't very keen on sending his boy back to that school, but bright as he was he still needed an education. He knew that Mykael could learn plenty from books and tutors; hell, the kid had proved since he was toddler that he was exceptionally bright. But he still needed to be around children his own age; despite how cruel they could be. He couldn't spend all his time with adults.

So it was back to school for him.

And now he was back in the corner.

As Mykael stood in the corner he felt more rejected than ever before. Once again, after countless times before, he'd been laughed at, pushed around, blamed and sent to the corner.

Once again he'd been told that he'd been a "bad boy".

Once again he was missing out on the laughter and games that the rest of the class was allowed to participate in.

"_No matter how hard I try nobody likes me. I'm always the odd man out… the last one picked… I'm such a…screw up! A black sheep!" _his little foot kicked at the wall angrily, but nobody noticed; they were too busy enjoying their games and songs without him. He looked over his shoulder dejectedly before he faced back to the floor in front of him.

"_Maybe they're all right. Maybe I really am just bad. Maybe that's just my destiny." _He thought to himself as he sighed glumly.

That was when a light bulb lit up in his head.

"_Wait! Maybe that's just it! I am very good at being very bad! In fact…being bad is the one thing I'm good at! Well fine then! I'll just be bad!" _he snuck a look back over his shoulder and a sly smirk stretched itself across his lips. _"And if I'm going to be a bad boy, then I am going to be the baddest of them all!" _

He turned and opened the supply closet, completely unnoticed as was normal when he was thrown to the corner. He quickly threw the necessary ingredients together and placed the can on a nearby desk. Quietly he grabbed Minion and backed out of the schoolhouse and outside.

"Sir? What are we doing?" he asked.

"Just watch Minion… in three…two…one."

_BOOM!_

A cloud of blue erupted from the windows, along with the screams of his classmates and teacher. Several blue faces peered out the windows at him and he couldn't hold back the giggle.

All too soon he was being driven back to the prison. He smiled brightly out the back window of the bus as his classmates sneered at him. Wayne Scott hovered just above the ground; he stuck his tongue out at his departing adversary and then turned around and lifted the school up and flew away with it with everyone still inside.

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><p>Though harmless and a little misguided, Mykael hadn't fully thought through his plan; he hadn't thought to the part where the Warden would find out and he would be inevitably punished.<p>

David crossed his arms and stared down at the boy who peered up at him with an impish grin on his face.

"Do you want to tell me what you were thinking?"

"I turned them blue too." He giggled, elated that he had gotten his revenge. "They always teased me about being blue. So I wanted them to know how it feels to be like me."

His eyes drifted off for a moment as he replayed the scene in his mind, clearly pleased with himself. "I turned them blue too." He giggled again as he spoke more to himself than anyone else.

David grumbled slightly as he looked down to Mykael. Try as he might thought he couldn't find himself as angry as he felt that he ought to be. Some part of him was proud that his little boy had fought back.

After a quiet moment he chuckled.

"Well, maybe it's for the best. I was starting to think that maybe it was time we took your education into our own hands…hire you some private tutors. But that doesn't mean that you're off the hook entirely!" he had to jump in to cut off whatever the boy had been about to say. "The fact is that you did still make a _bomb_ and set it off in your classroom." He sighed; trying to think up a punishment. He didn't want to squash the boy's enthusiasm; nor did he want him to think that he was being punished for standing up for himself, but rather for the way in which he did.

"No inventions or power tools for a week."

"But!"

"And no dessert."

"But!"

"And no buts, young man! Now go to your room." It felt odd calling the cell a room, but it was the closest thing he had. Mykael opened his mouth to fight back but the Warden gave him a stern glare and pointed out the door. He sighed and slumped his shoulders and turned to make his way out the door.

"Yes sir…"

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><p>By the end of the week Mykael had already torn through every book the Warden owned as well as the stack he had requested from the library. If he was going to be punished, David had figured that he might as well use the time for something and at least study. Mykael was an exceptionally fast reader; but what had shocked the Warden the most was the types of books that he had been reading.<p>

He knew that his boy was bright; his early inventions had proved that; but this was beyond anything that he had imagined. Already his little boy had tackled full sets of encyclopedias, a plethora of engineering and tech magazines and manuals, and even several college level textbooks on various topics.

Even after his punishment was over Mykael sat at the desk he'd been provided with, staying up until all hours into the night, hunched over a notepad. Several drawings and diagrams had already been added to those that wallpapered the walls of his cell.

"Alright son, come on, you've gotta eat sometime." David said as he leaned against the wall and looked at the boy hunched over his desk.

"No time, sir! I'm on the verge of a discovery!"

"What sort of discovery? You're 10, for crying out loud!"

"I'm inventing!"

"Yeah well, you can invent after dinner. Supper's getting cold." David turned to walk out of the cell.

"Evil has no time for dinner!" Mykael said dramatically. The very words stopped David dead in his tracks. Maybe he'd heard his boy wrong. Slowly he turned around.

"What?" there was a hint of a chuckle in his voice; hoping that it had been a joke.

For but a moment Mykael wavered, as if he were going to take back his words; as if they had slipped out. But he flashed a glance to Minion and then back to the Warden and a smile broke out over his face.

"I'm gonna be a villain!"

"What?" David's stomach dropped. Out of everything that his child could have said, he had not been expecting that.

"A villain! But not just any villain Warden! A Super Villain! I'm gonna be the best bad boy that this city ever saw!"

"Very funny kid." He said, hoping against hope that this was just a joke.

"I'm not kidding." Mykael said stubbornly.

Okay…maybe it was just a phase.

"You're not a villain kid. Villains are bad. You're not bad."

"Everyone always says that I am." The boy pouted.

David ran a hand down his face as he mentally kicked himself over and over. He should have pulled the boy out of school long ago; and he shouldn't have raised him in a prison. Being around this all day; it couldn't have been good for the boy. Perhaps a different tactic would work.

"Come on, you're a smart kid. You could do anything. You could be like those inventors we saw at that museum!" he tried. Months back he had taken his boy on a trip to a symposium; some of the greatest minds had gathered there and he thought that it would be a good pick-me-up to bring the kid to a place where he could get really inspired and feel special.

"No! I'm gonna be a villain! It's my destiny! He and I were destined to be rivals and_ I'm_ supposed to be the villain!"

"You and _who_ exactly?" he stared off with Mykael before he realized. "This is about that Scott brat? You don't even have to deal with him anymore! Just forget about him. We'll all be better off for it."

"You're wrong."

"What did you say young man?"

"I said you're wrong! You're always telling me that I can be whatever I want! I'm going to be a Super Villain!"

David could hardly believe his ears. He looked down at the little boy before him and didn't know what to say. He hoped that this was all just a part of growing up; one of those difficult rebellious stages that began as a child reached his age. Even the glare that the boy was sending his way wasn't entirely convincing. Never before had the kid shown even a singular evil bone in his body.

This wasn't him.

This wasn't his little boy.

But when that child crossed his arms and glared like that, David felt like his entire world had fallen out from under his feet. He sighed and slowly turned and walked out of the cell that made up the boy's room. But David didn't go to dinner. He walked into his office and locked the door behind him before sinking into that old familiar armchair.

That was where he remained all night; with a glass of whiskey in one hand and an old photo album in his lap.


	11. Chapter 11 Unexpected

**Just another charming little blippit in the lives of our friends :)**

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><p><strong>Unexpected<strong>

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><p>Roxanne stormed down the street; her eyes focused down. She didn't know if she felt more stupid or angry. She'd sat in that restaurant for nearly an hour waiting. At first she'd thought maybe he'd just been caught up in something, but then she realized; no, nothing had happened to him.<p>

No; he hadn't gotten caught up in his work.

She had been stood up; plain and simple.

She regretted even more not having a car now. It was early November, and though it had been a strangely warm month, the chill was beginning to set in, and Roxanne's thin sweater was not enough to keep out the chill of the Michigan night.

"You know, it's not safe for a lady to walk alone at night. There's a villain running around." The silky smooth voice emitted from the car that had pulled up alongside her. She turned, seeing the blue face appear as the window rolled the rest of the way down. "I'd hate for my number one captive to be kidnapped by someone else."

"Look Megamind, I'm having a really bad night, so if you can just hold off on the kidnapping tonight.."

"Who said I was kidnapping? I was just driving by and happened to see you walking alone. That _is_ dangerous you know." His normal mask slipped as he warned her. "I will however offer you a ride home."

Roxanne looked at him a moment, scrutinizing his face for honesty.

"Miss Ritchi… get in the car; please." he leaned over and opened the door for her. There was an underlying sense of urgency in his voice; and it was a very rare moment in which he said please. Roxanne sighed, stepping down to sit in the car. Kidnapping or not, she'd end up home either way. She'd just barely sat down when a thin blue arm reached across her out the window, shooting a blue beam into the darkness. She let out a gasp of surprise and turned to look at him as he sat back nonchalantly.

"What was that?"

"Just some dark shadow that had been tailing you for the last block." He said simply. Roxanne was, to say the least, shocked. He pulled the car away from the sidewalk, directing them down the road. Despite her attempts to do so, Roxanne sighed as she relaxed back into the soft leather seats.

"When did you get heated seats?" she asked. She'd spent more than her fair share of time in this car from kidnappings and she couldn't remember there ever being heated seats. Realizing now just how cold she was she reached for one of the many dials, turning the vents on and directing those closest to her towards herself.

They drove in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again.

"Do you mind telling me just _what_ you were doing walking in this city alone, at night?" he asked. He was honestly angry with her for risking the walk alone. He'd always known her to be brave, but to walk along the dark deserted streets, unarmed, bordered on stupidity; and Roxanne was not a stupid woman. She stayed silent, and he wondered if she might not answer him at all when her quiet voice replied.

"I was stood up, alright?"She folded her arms across herself as she stared out the window.

"That's ridiculous." He snorted. "Who would be stupid enough to stand you up?"

Roxanne said nothing.

"Besides, I thought you were dating Metro Loser! Unle-oh…" he stopped at the expression on her face. Even if she and Metro Man weren't exactly dating, the fact that she'd been stood up didn't hurt any less. She leaned her head against the window, staring out at the lights as they passed by. Megamind was at a loss for what to say. He certainly was not about to taunt her for having been stood up, especially not with the angry expression that she had just sent his way. But he found himself concerned for her.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"What?" she looked at him. His question was unexpected.

"I was…just wondering if you'd eaten yet." He placed his question hesitantly. Roxanne studied him a moment; he was actually sincere. She sat back in her seat, looking back out the window. It was no use now trying to ignore the gnawing hunger in her stomach; especially when it growled loudly at the mere mention of eating.

"No."

He smirked and brought his watch to his mouth and muttered something quickly that she didn't catch. She did however notice that they weren't headed back to her apartment.

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><p>"The abandoned observatory? What's here?"<p>

"I like to come here to think sometimes."

"So…why here? I thought you were driving me home." Once again a little voice inside of her shouted that this had been a trick and that she was being kidnapped. The more reasonable side of her fought that if she were being kidnapped there was a noticeable lack of ropes, knock-out spray and weapons.

"Well, you were clearly supposed to have dinner, and did not. So, to make up for my adversary's lack of tact, I'm offering you dinner. Think of it as a rare moment of good will, Miss Ritchi."

A brain bot flew over, hovering just in front of him. A basket hung from its claws. Megamind patted the glowing dome and said a quiet thank you as he retrieved the basket. The bot buzzed off and Megamind reached inside the large basket, retrieving a folded square of dark blue material. He placed the basket down, and unfurled the material in his hands; Roxanne recognized it instantly as the coat Minion had gifted her just that past Christmas. At first Megamind had been against the idea of such a personal gift to their captive, but with Minion's insistence and seeing how good it looked on her, he acquiesced.

"Where did you find that? I thought I'd lost it." Roxanne asked, and found herself all the more surprised as he stood behind her, holding it open for her to put on.

"It was left at the Evil Lair during one of that pretty boy's routine burst-ins. You know, I _do_ have a door." He moved again to grab the basket. "Surely you wouldn't mind letting him know?" he smirked to her.

"Oh sure, because he listens to everything I say." She said, unable to keep the bite out of her tone.

"Not feeling so warm towards the hero right now, are we?" he couldn't help but feel smug at that fact. Her anger towards the over-muscled hero was obvious. Metro Man was supposed to have taken her out on a date, and the blue villain himself was instead.

_Wait… no this wasn't a date. _

_That's crazy! _

_He was just simply making sure that his favorite kidnappee was fed. _

He opened the basket again and pulled out a box that explained the large size of the basket.

"Pizza?" the scent hit her nose and she felt her mouth instantly water.

"Yes, Miss Ritchi, pizza. Now, eat up." He handed her a large slice and took his own before setting the box down in the basket once more. She studied him a moment; something about his manner told her instincts to trust him; for now at least. She gladly took his offering and her hunger screamed at her again at the first bite.

"This is delicious! Where did you get it?"

"A little shop not too far from here. One of the very few that will serve a blue menace like myself." He smirked at her. Taking a few steps away he pressed a button on a control board and Roxanne watched in awe as the opening in the ceiling came to life and revealed the stars above.

"Woah…" she whispered.

"Out here away from the lights of the city it's much easier to see all the stars."

"Now I see why you come out here. It's so quiet… and beautiful."

"You're more beautiful." He murmured.

"What was that?" she asked; he'd been too quiet for her to hear

"I…asked if you'd like to know more about them. The stars." He cleared his throat awkwardly. She watched him a moment and saw his adam's apple bob in his throat as he swallowed. What could it hurt?

"Sure."

"Really!" he jumped excitedly and without hesitation grabbed the basket, taking her hand in his free one and pulled her towards the large telescope. He dropped her hand and the basket, considering the floor for a second before turning and grabbing a large blanket from a nearby counter top. He'd been here enough times to have a blanket around to sit upon. He laid it out on the ground and gestured grandly for her to sit down. She smirked, placing the box of pizza beside her and watched as he sat on the other side of it, opening the box to retrieve another piece. He was so skinny, she was surprised he ate at all.

"So…do you know anything about the constellations?" he inquired. She took a slow swallow and nodded.

"Well… I know that _that's_ the big dipper." She pointed up towards the stars. Roxanne Ritchi was bright about several things, but the constellations were not exactly one of them. She'd never had a mind for keeping track of them all. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Well yes, but you see the big dipper is not actually a constellation; it's an asterism." He explained. She looked from him and back to the sky above. She was honestly surprised that the tone he used wasn't condescending at all, but rather calm, and kind; different from his normal theatrics that she'd grown so used to.

It was a rare moment that she'd heard this tone of voice; normally only when she was waking up with that smelly old bag still over her head and both men went unaware that she was awake, or on the rare occasion when the cameras were off and he regarded her as an equal and not just a victim.

She wondered, as she often did, if _this _was the true him.

"You see, an asterism is an easily recognizable figure that has been made up of the brighter stars from other constellations. In this case: the Big Dipper, or Orion's Belt." He said. Roxanne followed his finger as it traced in the air the three stars he spoke of.

"So Orion's Belt is actually made from something bigger then?" she asked, actually very interested and intent on keeping him speaking in this low tone of his. There was something very soothing about it. He smiled brightly as he nodded.

"Exactly. See; you have Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka." He pointed at the three bright spots. "But if you look out a little wider…." He paused to trace the shape with the finger he pointed with. "You can just see Orion." He turned his face to look at her now, finding a funny little smile on her lips. For a moment he feared that she was going to laugh at him or hit him and escape. What he had not expected was for her to smile and request for him to teach her more.

The hours continued to pass as he pointed out other constellations, eventually leading her to the large telescope to point out those farther away. Neither had noticed the time until he looked down to his watch, and his stomach dropped. She hadn't noticed until then how closely she had leaned in to him to follow his directions through the stars. She was even more shocked at finding that she almost missed the body heat and comfort she had found from being so near to him.

"Oh my goodness! Look at the time! It's late! And you have work tomorrow! Minion will be absolutely furious that I'm so late!"

"Nanny-Fish gives you a curfew?" Roxanne smirked at him, tilting her head to one side in amusement.

"He just worries about where I am…" his chest puffed up. "And he'll be cross if he finds out that I've interrupted your sleep as well."

"That's never stopped your kidnappings before." She pointed out.

"Yes well… we've accommodated the times haven't we? The fact still stands that we need to get you home."

The ride back was quiet; as the reality of the night sunk in. They had spent the past three hours together, companionably. Aside from the occasional jibe here or there, they had gotten along extremely well. Roxanne was left to wonder just what tonight meant. It was surreal really; to have had such a pleasant time with the man that society told her she should hate and fear.

For nearly three years she had known Megamind as her kidnapper, the man that was always using her as bait in attempt to lure in Metro Man. Somewhere along the way they had formed an odd sort of friendship, if that's what you could call it. And as she thought about it, there had been many times where she doubted he was even a villain at all; and that everything was an act. There had certainly been glimmers of chivalry and a gentlemanly demeanor on the rare occasion.

But now? By all technicalities tonight could be counted as a date. So what did that all mean exactly? She looked over to him, studying his face as he drove. Her eyes traveled up to his eyes. Those eyes, so bright and green; they were a complete contradiction to his claims of being a villain. Her eyes traveled down his face slowly and once more she found herself wondering what his lips would feel like.

He slowed the car to a stop as he came to her apartment, parking at the curb.

"Last stop." He smirked to her.

"Thanks… for the ride…and the pizza." She finished lamely.

"Of course; we can't have Metrocity's famous reporter starving now can we?"

"And I suppose I should thank you for saving my life…if that's what that was."

"I won't have any amateur villains attempting to kidnap you. What would that say about me?" he smirked.

"Good night, Megamind."

"Good night….Miss Ritchi."

Then they were leaning in, slowly. They were inches away when she snapped back, clearing her throat.

"Well… thanks for the ride." She opened the door and climbed out of the car. She paused a moment before she turned to look at him. "I had a surprisingly good time tonight… for what it's worth I don't think you're as bad as you claim to be."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." He reiterated her past words to her. She blushed that he even remembered that little line and watched as he sped off into the night. She was certain her dreams that night would once more be filled with a certain blue face and a pair of electric green eyes.

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><p><strong>So there you have it folks :) I hope that you all enjoyed. Free time has been slim lately... but Becoming A Villain part 2 should be up soon. Also; keep an eye out for a sequel to What They've Needed All Along. That's right! A full sequel! It should be up soon! :) <strong>


	12. Chapter 12 Becoming a Villian Part 2

**So I had originally planned for this to be a two part mini-fic BUT part two ended up being well over 10 pages. SO… I'm cutting it where this is, editing the last bit and it will end up being 3 parts…maybe 4 :)  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Becoming A Villain – Part 2<strong>

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><p>There was a while where David hoped that this whole villain business was just a phase; that one day he'd wake up and Mykael would have forgotten all about it and be back to his normal self.<p>

But as the months went on David began to see how wrong he was. With every passing day the boy continued inventing and studying; and all the while becoming more withdrawn. So as a parent David decided that perhaps he should try a different tactic.

At first he ignored it all together; hoping that maybe in some form of reverse psychology that his boy would see the lack of concern and give it all up.

But when that didn't work David decided to start getting tough. It started with lectures, which moved to fights, and then to pure forbiddance against being a villain.

"You're a good kid! You've got your whole future ahead of you!" he practically pleaded, but Mykael had stopped listening and pushed past David and stormed out of his room and down the hall; David leaned back out the cell door and called after him. "You're too smart for this!" he watched the retreating back turn a corner and he huffed in annoyance. He looked to Minion then and gestured a hand towards the boy.

"Why haven't you tried to talking him out of this? You're supposed to be some sort of sentient guardian aren't you?"

The Warden would never forget the day that he learned that Minion could talk. The little fish had explained all about what had happened to their planet and that his role was to serve as a guardian to the infant Mykael. He explained that Mykael's and his races had both been killed, as had Wayne Scott's. He also explained that while the three of them were around the same age Minion's race had extensive knowledge of their ward's race's history and knowledge of how to care for the one they were placed with. However David also knew the Minion and Mykael had formed a sort of brotherhood.

"Well.. I-..I'm supposed to support him." Minion replied.

"Oh come on, you can't possibly think that this is a good idea."

The two stared off with one another for a moment before Minion finally sighed.

"I might not think it's the… _best _idea. He could do a lot of other things. But if this is what he wants to choose then I can't stop him. All I can do is do my best to make sure that he doesn't get hurt."

David did not miss the pointed glare that was directed his way.

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><p>By the time that Mykael was 13 he already had been in trouble twice for minor delinquent behaviors; never mind the trouble from David for sneaking out after lights out. David had gotten him out of any serious trouble but a hard grounding had been handed out as punishment. For days he just laid on his bed; miserable and silent. It was only after enough nagging from Minion and David that he put something in his system that he left the confines of his bed and stomped off to the cafeteria.<p>

The blue figure sat hunched over his meal. He barely even registered the man that approached him until he sat down across from him.

"What are you doing Lee?" It was Joel; one of the men who had been there since he was a baby; one of the men that Mykael considered an Uncle. Joel had already made it quite clear that he didn't approve of these new choices. But Lee didn't answer.

"You're too good for this kid. Too smart! We always had a promise that you wouldn't end up in here like me; didn't we?"

"Deals were meant to be broken"

"Not with family." And with that he stood and walked away. He watched as Joel walked away, and pondered his words for a moment before he stood up and stormed out of the cafeteria and back to his desk.

As the Warden made his nightly walkthrough he found Mykael hunched over his desk, fast asleep. He let out a heavy sigh and roused the boy only enough to get him into his bed. As he made to leave for the night he was stopped as a voice called out.

"You alright there Warden? You seem a little off."

David looked over to find Joel still awake and sitting on his bed. There were many times were the Warden questioned just how Joel not only managed to end up in prison but to stay there for so long. He had been there since before Mykael had crashed into their lives and remained there still. But as he recognized the old tattered papers in Joel's hands he got the feeling that sometimes the man would rather be in his cell than go back out into the world; back out into the world where his wife had divorced him and the daughter that once adored him refused to speak to him. Every night he would fall asleep reading the old letters they once wrote.

David could not ignore the pang that went through his heart as he thought about losing his own boy. He ran a hand through his slowly graying hair and sighed as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. He tried not to make a habit of being friends with the inmates; but right then he just needed to get it off of his chest.

"I don't know what to do anymore…I feel like I'm losing him. It's times like this I miss Keene…she always knew exactly what to do."

Keene; sweet old Officer Keene who had helped to soothe the baby when he had first arrived and taught David all the tricks to changing, burping and to not pick him up every time that he cried. She had been a sort of house mother for everyone there and after she retired the loss had been felt by the entire prison.

"I know I might not be exactly father of the year over here…but he's a good kid; he's just confused right now. He's been through a lot for a kid his age." He paused as he regarded the Warden, taking in his tired eyes and haggard stance. "You're a good dad Warden Pearce; maybe all the kid needs is just a change of scenery; something to get him out of this day to day gloom."

As David drove home that night he began to think that maybe Joel was right; he'd been beginning to think recently that perhaps raising the boy in a prison hadn't exactly been the best idea.

Very early the next morning, after no sleep the previous night, David returned to the prison to find Mykael already awake.

"So I've been thinking…"

"Oh? I thought I smelt smoke."

"Very clever. But I was thinking…you've sort of out grown that bed don't you think? And this _room_.." he paused to clear his throat, still after these years finding it odd to call the cell a room. "..Well it's a bit small."

"Does any of this have a point? I'm busy." He gestured with the book that was in his hands.

"How about moving out? My apartment might not be huge… but there's two bedrooms and room for a desk."

He watched as the boy muddled it over in his brain, trying not to show any excitement. Slowly he turned his chair to face the Warden.

"Let me get this straight…your place? A real bed?"

"Yup."

"And real food?"

"Well I'm no chef but it's better than here."

He watched as Mykael calculated it out in his head. He looked to Minion and the two seemed to share a silent conversation before bright green eyes and the hint of a smile were directed towards David.

"Can I start packing now?"

It had not taken long to pack or unpack into what was to be his new room. They stood in the middle of the living room in a tense silence.

"Well…ahem… well you've been here a few times; you know where the bathroom and kitchen are." David said; feeling rather awkward. His mind began a batter over whether the boy should have been living there all along or if they would have been better staying at the prison. "We should…probably discuss the rules."

"Rules? You never said anything about rules!"

"It's just a few." David attempted at being patient. "There will be a curfew; say an hour later than back at the prison? And… if you want to go out ask; I'll drive you if I can. And you'll do chores for money."

"Chores? A curfew? This stinks." Mykael plopped down onto the couch.

"This is gonna be different for all of us." He chanced a glance at Minion, whose dome rested on the coffee table, and was glad that he'd cleaned the previous night. "It's just going to take a few minor adjustments." He looked around the room again; knowing full well how different that this was going to be. But he figured that if he wanted a chance at getting his boy back; this was the best shot that he had short of sending him to military school; and with his knowledge and their weapons he knew that was not the best idea. They had remained settled with home schooling since the debacle with that paint bomb and Mykael was thriving on the chance to learn on his own.

"Now we don't have to have that tutor come here if you don't want… but your work _will_ be done on time still. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

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><p>By the time that Mykael had turned 15 he already had received a diploma and was well through correspondence courses for a university. David had truly thought that perhaps his boy had finally turned himself around and was going down the right track; he was still moody, which was to be expected with a teenager, but he hadn't heard of any villain talk for nearly two years. It was as if one day Mykael had just woken up and decided to immerse himself in his studies. He'd done more than the courses required and studied off on his own interests and stayed up until all hours of the night with his nose in some book or another.<p>

Slowly he began to come back out of his shell; it started with Friday night pizza and movies, and chores without complaint, and slowly progressed into full conversations minus the attitude. There were increasing occurrences of Mykael speaking rapidly over some meal or another about some exciting thing that he had learned or figured out on his own. An entire afternoon had been taken up with his discovery of a college textbook being incorrect in its formulas.

Hoping for even more father-son bonding David began _trying_ to teach his boy how to drive; only to quickly discover that he had a lead foot and a near complete inability to stay in one lane. It still passed for bonding time though, and for David that was good enough.

It was this renewed sense of hope that brought David to bring his boy to yet another invention convention. He had little worry about the boy being shunned there, were nearly all those that were presenting had been laughed and scorned for their inventions and ideas. He saw Mykael come back to life there; as he hurried around and talked to the many different scientists that he met. What David had not anticipated was coming up behind his son as he spoke to an inventor and hearing a detailed discussion of how the laser gun on the table had been built. He took the boy by the arm and guided him out of the building with the excuse that it "was time to go." He stayed silent until they were sat in the car and then turned to face a pair of green eyes.

"What was that?"

"What was _what?"_ he asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I mean. What was this all? Some ruse? Acting like you're changing back to yourself just so I won't be suspicious that you're still on this villain kick?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mykael answered dully.

"Asking for details on how to build a laser gun? First off all you and I both know that you're smart enough to figure that one out on your own; secondly what the hell do you need one for?"

Mykael shrank beneath the steely gaze that was directed at him. He stayed silent for a moment before finally straightening back out and crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.

"What do you care?"

"I care because you're my son… and I don't want to see you do something stupid with your life." David quietly admitted. Even with the small changes he still remained afraid that he was losing that once happy boy. "Is it something that I did? Something that I didn't do?"

"What are you talking about?" the hint of a sneer rose at the corner of Lee's lips.

"You know what I'm talking about!" David snapped but slowly brought himself back to center and took a calming breath. "All this change: this villain talk, and closing yourself off. You're giving me whiplash kid. One second you're determined to destroy the city, the next you're acting like…" he stopped himself from saying "my little boy again." _When had it gotten so hard to be honest with his kid? _"We used to talk… a lot… if you remember."

"I grew up."

"That's bullshit."

Mykael turned his eyes back to the Warden in shock; it was rare to hear the man talk like that…especially to him.

"I've just been…angry."

"Why?"

"…I don't know." He looked down as he answered. It was one of the better lies that he ever told. He might have been angry, but right then he didn't want to hurt the Warden; he didn't want to admit that the reason that he'd been so angry was that he didn't have a normal childhood, or friends, and that he'd been picked on ruthlessly by the few children that he had ever been around. David sighed heavily before he reached over and clapped his boy on the shoulder.

"Maybe this is just one of those things that happens around this age? I was a hellion for my father too." He smirked; trying to smooth over the edges.

"Seriously? You?" the blue face smirked at him in amused disbelief. David chuckled and turned the engine over.

"Oh sure. Come on, we'll get dinner and I'll tell you all about it."

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><p><strong>Yup sorry.. had to cut it here. Or else we'd be reading a 20 page fic here! (and while I'm sure that most of you wouldn't mind that… I felt it right to cut it.. before the real drama starts.) Leave me all sorts of love and stuff? <strong>


	13. Chapter 13 Becoming a Villian Part 3

**AND here we have it! Part 3! Thank you to everyone for your awesome and kind reviews :)**

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><p><strong>Becoming A Villain - Part 3<br>**

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><p>The ringing of the telephone cut through the silence of the night like a gong in his ear. The Warden reached from the warmth of his bed for the night table and groped in the dark until his hand found the phone.<p>

"Yeah?" he said gruffly.

"Warden…you might want to get down here…now."

David didn't bother asking why or what; he hopped from his bed, and threw on a suit as he hurried out the door. No sooner had he gotten into the prison that he was greeted by the guard that had called him. He was led to a cell and felt a strange mix of emotions as he saw the person inside.

There was his Blue…skinnier then he would like to see; and dressed in a black t-shirt with a jacket over it, a pair of black jeans and black boots. He had a stubborn glare set on his face and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well?"

Mykael only blinked at him and remained silent.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Not really."

"Nothing? Nothing at all? Dammit Lee! You disappear for months; you don't call, you certainly don't come home. And now you're breaking in to stores to steal? And then you try to escape in some stolen car? That thing's an antique! Where'd you even find it? Don't even get me started on fighting with that Scott boy again."

"It's not stolen." He defended. David looked to him then, clearly dumbstruck. "It's not stolen. I happened to pay for it all myself; with my _own _money. I finally sold off that jet idea I had."

"Well fine; one honest thing in your ever growing list of dishonest! I thought that I taught you better than this Lee.."

"Megamind."

"What?" David asked slowly, looking at the 17 year old who sat before him.

"The name is Megamind."

"Megamind…" The Warden repeated it back, rolling the name over in his mouth.

"You wanna take him home now?" the guard asked. David turned to look back to the angry looking teenager before making up his mind.

"No… let him sit here for the night. You want to act like a criminal? Well…here you go."

It killed the Warden to do it, really it did; but maybe right now a little tough love was called for.

But no sooner did David get back home and lay down for the night that his phone rang again; "Megamind" had escaped.

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><p>Over the next six months David Pearce was left to watch as Megamind attempted to rise to city villain. Nearly every week was filled with some new petty crime or a fight with Metro Man. After every time he was brought to prison David begged and pleaded with the court officials to drop any charges; that he was just a boy and was just confused. He knew though that there would come a day when he could no longer fight and that he would be force to lock his boy up in jail.<p>

That day came right after his 18th birthday. The fights between Megamind and Metro Man had grown more intricate. Finally came the day that the fights went a little too far; a full building was destroyed in Megamind's "quest to end Metro Man". Granted the building was empty, but it was destroyed none-the-less. This time, the courts could not and would not be persuaded; Megamind had to go to jail; he had been a menace for far too long now and had to be brought to justice.

The Warden looked through the bars at his son; completely torn. Part of him was absolutely furious that no matter how hard he tried, it all seemed to be in vain; this kid was going to do whatever he wanted to. The other part of him was heartbroken that there was no longer anything that he could do to protect his boy.

"Well I hope you're pleased with yourself." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh yes, quite. I think this plan went over quite well actually." He smirked confidently.

"When are you going to stop this nonsense kid? Seriously. Stop now and come home…you can do a million other things. Just quit this villain nonsense."

"I think that we're a bit too far for that now. But no matter."

"You realize what you're facing in here? Years of punishment! For being a public menace; destroying public property, theft and attempted murder."

"I don't think that it can be counted as attempted murder if the target is indestructible." Megamind said cheekily.

"I can't talk your way out of this one Lee…I've tried too many times for you before. I see that was all for nothing."

"Oh no you see; it was all a big help. Made this punishment just a bit smaller; don't you see?" he smiled. David realized with a start just how giddy the boy seemed to be at having been caught.

"You realize that they've added this one to everything that you've done in the past year? You're looking at a life sentence."

"Oh I highly doubt that it will be that long."

"You're constant breaking out isn't helping in that."

"What would be the fun in getting caught if I couldn't get back out?"

"Fine! You want to keep up this stupid game? Go right ahead; clearly you don't need my help anymore." He made to turn away and took but two steps when Megamind spoke again.

"I'm not a little boy anymore; I can take care of myself just fine, _Warden."_

David did not turn back around. He remained paused for a moment before he thrusted his fisted hands down at his sides and stalked off to his office. He slammed the door shut in anger and sat down. Out of the corner of his eye he caught that old picture; the one of him holding a small blue bundle in his arms and he was brought back to a simpler, happier time.

For the rest of his life, David Pearce would never forget the day that a teenage Mykael, now Megamind, glared at the man who raised him, and regarded him as_ Warden_; not as his father; not as his special nickname; but as his job description; a man keeping him in prison.

However; throughout his career as a villain, David didn't stop watching out for Megamind. He always worried when he didn't see or hear about any activities for an extended period of time; and he worried about him having no one to talk to except for Minion. He knew that he would be well-cared for in that aspect. It was no secret that not only was the fish now suited in a large robot body; but was something of an excellent cook. David had already received several plates of cookies and other dishes from the fish.

He began to wonder if he was sick in the head when he practically grew excited for his boy's returns to the prison. He could never show it; he knew that much. It wouldn't be received well first of all, and he knew that he would be transferred to a different prison for "conflict of interests." But all the same; when Megamind was returned to the prison David needed to visit; to make sure that he was healthy; and just to see his boy again. Some days he would get witty retort back, other days silence. He knew Megamind wouldn't stay locked up for long; no matter what efforts they used. But those few short moments that he could see his boy; be it a week to heal from a more violent battle, a few days, or the shortest record ever; two hours, he always made sure to at least walk past the specially built cell and check in on his boy.

Then came the day when Megamind made his first kidnapping; a pretty sassy young woman from the news station. As he watched their broadcasted banter and the way the woman was not only _not_ afraid, but was so witty that she even managed to stop Megamind's quips he was not worried for either party. If anything, he thought that perhaps this silver-tongued reporter would be good for his boy.

Almost 5 years later David would find out just how right he was.

He watched from behind a curtain as his boy, now a man, paced nervously behind the brick wall that he was scheduled to burst through in his debut. He was the hero now; loved and celebrated by nearly the entire city. The woman, Roxanne was it?; had just released him from an embrace and had walked off. David watched as he continued to pace; his gloved hands wringing behind his back. He sighed and stepped from his hiding spot and spoke up.

"You look nervous kid." He said. Megamind turned around and his face lifted in surprise before he stood still once more. The white-haired man approached him, his eyes looking him up and down. "You look good, Blue." The Warden swallowed thickly; he'd never been more proud of his boy.

"Thank you Warden." Megamind swallowed nervously as well, to which David laughed and clapped his shoulder.

"I'm proud of you Megamind. You may not have had the easiest of times growing up- a lot of which I blame myself for."

"Sir-" he wanted to apologize. He wanted to tell this man; this man that had stepped into the role of his father and had treated him like his son for years; that _he_ was the one that was sorry; that it wasn't his fault that he was the one that had chosen the path he had. He also wanted to tell him thank you for everything that he _had_ done for years. But David spoke right through him.

"No, I'm taking the blame for that one." He had put a hand up; silencing anything that Megamind was going to cut through with. "I should have realized the sham that school was before it was too late." He looked to Megamind and his expression softened.

In his mind he was re-imagining that vivacious little boy with the bright green eyes and a curiosity for life. He was remembering the little boy who built a tricycle and drove it through the prison wall; who had begged for bedtime stories; and who had spent hours explaining the new and exciting discoveries he had made. David was beginning to see that boy again; it was in the light of those green eyes; in the sparkle that they held.

"I'm not one for words Blue, but I'm damn proud of you. You've turned yourself around, and you're finally being yourself again. And just look at you now; a hero!" the man chuckled, clapping Megamind's shoulder again. He could have hugged his boy; he _wanted_ to hug him. But after all those years of fighting and tension he wasn't sure how that would be received. And by the look on his boy's face he knew that for now this was more than enough. He gave Mykael's shoulder an encouraging squeeze and stepped back.

"Now go out there, and show 'em what you're made of kid."

"Yes sir."

They would have years to make up for all the lost time; for all the cruel words that had transpired between the pair. But right then, David Pearce just wanted to watch his son become the official hero of Metro City. He watched as the lanky blue man walked onto the stage with all the confidence in the world and greeted the cheering crowd. He cleared his throat and scratched at his eye, unable to keep how proud he was to himself.

"That's my boy."

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><p><strong>YAY! I hope you all liked this one! :) <strong>

**Next up should be some fun one-shots; featuring Hal, Adam, and more Roxanne/Megamind fluff! :D  
><strong>

**Oh! And I am still working on that sequel, I promise! I've been otherwise preoccupied! haha  
><strong>


	14. Chapter 14 Meet Your New Cameraman

**Hello again friends! thank you so much for your great support and reviews! I'm so glad that everyone liked my little journey down the father/son road! Now here's another fun blippit that I thought would be fun to play with; Hal Stewart.**

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><p><strong>Meet Your New Cameraman<strong>

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><p>Roxanne didn't know much about Hal Stewart. He'd recently started on an intern program, mainly getting donuts and coffee and setting up the cameras in the station before their broadcasts. He'd tried talking to her only a few times before and he'd come across as nerdy, a little awkward, but good intentioned.<p>

That was why, on one particularly chilly day, when Hal offered to drive her home, she accepted. Roxanne hadn't thought anything of it other than Hal attempting to be a gentleman as he knew that she did not own a car and would normally walk or take a cab home.

"So ya know…if you're cold you can totally like move closer. I wouldn't mind! Got pleeenntyy of body heat to spare." Hal attempted, sending Roxanne a rather goofy smirk.

"I'm fine, Hal." Roxanne said politely.

"Okay. I'm just sayin'!" his eyes roved up her body and she gasped as he almost hit a light pole. He quickly jerked the news van back onto the road, shouting his apologies as he did so. Roxanne wrapped her coat a little more tightly around her as she leaned more towards her own door.

Out of nowhere came a loud roar and Roxanne looked out the windshield in time to see a strange metal contraption fly over, followed by Metro Man. Hal stomped on the breaks and they watched as Megamind, in some strange flying robot, turned around to look at his white clad nemeses. They could see their mouths moving and with a punch Megamind was thrown backwards before the chase began again.

"Come on! We should get this on camera!" Roxanne leapt from the van and tightened her scarf around her neck.

"What? Roxaroo! Get back in here! Do you wanna get smushed?" Hal hurried and stepped in front of her, stopping her from going any further.

"Please." Roxanne snorted. "I have yet to get crushed by either of those two."

"But you don't even have a camera man!"

"Well, you take the camera, Hal." Roxanne said expectantly. She opened the back of the van and gestured towards the news camera. Hesitantly Hal lifted it and looked at it as if it would break.

"I dunno if I'm supposed to do this.."

"Oh come on Hal; do you want to be stuck doing donut runs all your life?" she smiled lightly to him.

"But I could get in major trouble! I need this job Rox! You've been doing this for what, two years? I'm new! They'd totally fry me!"

"Well, if they did get mad, _which they won't_, I'll just tell them it was an unexpected news opportunity that I couldn't pass up! Now come on! We're missing all the action!"

As they ran after the pair of supers Roxanne put in a call to the station and told them to be ready. After a quick fix of her hair she stepped in front of the camera and Hal gave a rather nervous cue that they were live.

"This is Roxanne Ritchi, in downtown Metro City where I'm live on the scene of yet another battle between Metro Man and Megamind!"

Anyone watching would see the camera zoom in on the scene behind Roxanne. Megamind was in a very strange looking robot suit that was suspended by rockets on either side. Metro Man shot his laser vision at the robot and one of the rockets went spiraling off, which sent Megamind down to the ground. Roxanne took it as a cue and waved to the white clad hero.

"Metro Man!" she called out. He turned and flashed a bright smile to her as he flew over. "Would you mind giving us a quick word on what notorious villain Megamind has done this time?"

"Anything for my favorite reporter, Roxie! See old Megamind there was trying to rob the Metro City bank. Lucky for us, I got there in time." There was a clattering as Megamind regained the robot's feet. "Oops! Hold that thought. I'd better bring this one in to jail again." He went to turn but stopped and looked back to Roxanne. "What say we do dinner sometime? Say tonight?"

"Sure thing Metro Man." Roxanne smirked; glad that she was turned away from the camera so that they would not see her eyes roll. Of course he would ask for dinner on camera; nothing like keeping up appearances. It wasn't as if they didn't already have plans for that night. It was Friday night, and Friday night meant pizza and beer and whatever awful movie they had managed to rent that week. She composed herself and turned back to the camera. From behind her Metro Man could be seen busting open the glass dome and hauling Megamind out and then off into the distance.

"Well you've seen it here first Metro City! Metro Man has saved the day once more. This has been Roxanne Ritchi reporting live for KMCP news 8." She gave her signature signal for the cut and Hal nearly dropped the camera.

"That was so awesome! That was the coolest thing I've ever done! You looked great Roxie, totally hot."

"…Thanks Hal."

"We probably just caught some of the coolest action ever!" Hal exclaimed as they made their way back to the van. Roxanne was not about to crush his high spirits by telling him that she'd been in the middle of far more exciting battles. She realized then that Hal was still talking and tuned back in.

"We should totally team up! We'd be the best news team in the city! Roxie and Hal; number one dynamic duo! Getting in on all the action!"

Roxanne gave him a rather weary look and he balked, backtracking his own words. When she saw the footage later however, Roxanne had to admit that Hal was pretty good with the camera. She had not expected for her boss to suggest that Hal become her new official camera person as, for the last few months Roxanne had been going through the many camera operators who could not handle the stress of her kidnappings.

Over the few months whenever there was a story to be told, Roxanne and Hal were on the scene. More often than not Roxanne would be kidnapped from those scenes, and as time went on she actually found herself grateful to get away from Hal's leering eyes, even if that meant being dangled above a pit of gators.

Try as she might to be nice, Roxanne was growing tired of Hal's constant hints for dates or how attractive he found her. She had even tried multiple times to remind him that she was "dating" Metro Man; but it was as if it fell on deaf ears. She'd even tried having Metro Man take her directly home after a cut or at the end of the work day and would come to work the next morning to find that it had had no effect on Hal whatsoever. 

"I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't been scared off yet! I would have thought that with you being you he'd back off! And I thought for sure when Megamind nearly stepped on him that last time that he'd quit." Roxanne sighed. She had wondered vaguely if Megamind's near misstep had been due to her unexpectedly complaining about Hal during one of her kidnappings. The villain had only merely made a comment about the chubby red haired man and Roxanne had scoffed in annoyance and muttered that being kidnapped was better than being a part of some pervert's fantasies.

She struggled again to get the beer bottle in her hands opened.

"He's such a cretin!" she held out the bottle to Wayne he easily popped it open with his thumb before handing it back to her.

"Want me to talk to him?" Wayne said in a poorly imitated version of a gangster. It at least made Roxanne chuckle.

"Yea, sure thing God Father." She plopped down on the couch next to him. "And thanks but, I think it will be fine. Hal's harmless really; just a little strange."

Little did Roxanne know how wrong her words would be three years later.


	15. Chapter 15 Just Admit It

**I just couldn't help myself :) This is another one of those chapters that I told you guys about that I have had sitting around for a while. I couldn't let it wait any longer! I had to post it! :)**

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><p><strong>Just Admit It<strong>

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><p>Roxanne wasn't sure what woke her up, but it took her a minute to adjust to the darkness to realize where she was. She had fallen asleep on her couch. She didn't remember ever turning off the television or lamp but was too tired to contemplate it. But it was the breeze that caught her attention. She turned her eyes to see the balcony doors open; the thin white curtains dancing with the moving air. She saw him then, the thin blue alien man.<p>

This of all things confused her. He never kidnapped her this late in the night; he always wanted to be sure that there would be plenty of people awake to see his epic battles with Metro Man.

"Megamind? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I…I wanted to make sure you're okay." He whispered. She had been gone for two weeks on a special international news report. She should have known that he'd be watching; he never missed a single one of her reports after all, she knew that by now.

But that meant that he'd seen the riot that had started one day; and had seen how she'd been roughly knocked to the ground and had to be pulled out from the crowd and to safety.

"I'm fine. Jet-lagged." She felt stupid as soon as she said it. But there was something about his presence there tonight that had her tongue tied. She watched him as he slowly walked towards her; watched his lithe body move under his tight suit, and how his cape swayed. She watched his face, studying his expressive eyebrows, the sharp angles that still managed to be rounded, that strip of hair on his chin, and then back up to his bright eyes. She couldn't fight it anymore; he was incredibly handsome. She'd been fighting to admit feeling anything for him for quite some time, but now to see him after being away, after having missed those bright eyes and his active energy, she found herself longing for him.

And so she didn't stop him as he came closer to her. He surprised her as he reached out and cradled her cheek in the palm of his gloved hand. Never before had he been so bold, and it ignited something in her. She leaned her face into his hand, sighing in contentment, as she covered his hand with her own. He gently tilted her face up towards his as he leaned down. Her eyes, half-lidded, roamed down his face to those blue lips she'd been so curious about. His voice was a quiet whisper as he spoke.

"I missed you." And then he closed the gap, pressing his lips against hers. She was surprised at his boldness; she'd been feeling their banter toeing the line of flirtation, but there had been times she'd been able to use that to her advantage to send him into a blushing stuttering mess. But now; oh this was different. Somehow this felt right.

He tilted his head to get a better angle, their sharp breaths the only sound as she placed one of her hands on his elbow, the other coming to rest against the side of his neck. He pulled her up to standing and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. She responded in kind, one hand trailing the back of his neck. A moan escaped his throat and he broke from her lips. His eyes, somehow even brighter in the dark, met hers in the dim light supplied from the city lights.

"Roxanne…" he whispered, as he moved his lips down towards her neck and,

Roxanne awoke with a start, looking around the room. Her heart was pounding in a strange sort of excited shock. She'd dreamed of the blue spaceman before, but never like this. She didn't know whether to be angry at herself for thinking of him in such ways, or curious as to if she really had real feelings for him.

And yet when Monday rolled around and Roxanne once more found herself tied to a chair, she was somehow unable to look anywhere but his lips. She was drawn in by the way they moved as he spoke, the way they curved up in that delightfully sexy "evil" smirk. Really the only thing evil about it was the way it made her stomach flutter.

_Wait… just when did she start thinking about him like that!_

"Miss Ritchi? Miss Ritchi! Have you been listening to a single thing I've said?"

She had only barely heard him, and it took a polite nudge to her shoulder from Minion to really bring her full attention back.

"Huh? Sorry, I guess I'm distracted today."

"I see." Megamind smirked his famous smirk. "Finally succumbing to my devilishly good looks! It was only a matter of time!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." She sat back, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Why don't you just admit you've finally fallen for me?" he challenged. She looked away, her lips turning into a scowl.

"Why don't you admit it?" she muttered. It had come out before she thought about it and her eyes opened wide as she froze. Slowly she turned her eyes back to him; she saw his frozen stance, those large green eyes wide in surprise. All the while Minion stood to the side, mouth agape.

_Oh no! Had she finally seen through Sir? Did she figure him out? Oh this would not end well!_

Finally Megamind seemed to snap back to himself.

"Admit that I know you find me devilishly attractive? Well I can't really blame you there! Now then, Minion! Signal for Metro Mahn! It's time to get this underway!"

Roxanne sat back and sighed, she was in the clear for now. She mentally kicked herself for slipping as it was. She _never_ slipped; _never!_ It was just a dream, she tried telling herself; just a dream and you need to keep it at that.

Still, she couldn't help but look up again as he spoke, wondering just how those lips would feel against her neck.


	16. Chapter 16 Insurance

**Just a nice cute little short one **

**It just sorta popped into my mind while I was working on the sequel and I had to get it out.**

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><p><strong>Insurance<strong>

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><p>"Officials are still unsure as to what started the blaze, but at this time have no reason to find it suspicious. This is Roxanne Ritchi, for KMCP 8 news." No sooner had she called for the cut that the squeal of tires cut through the air. Roxanne barely even had time to gasp as her head whipped around and she saw the car barreling straight for her. Time froze for Roxanne as the car bumped over the curb; everything was coming too quickly for her to move, even the thought to anticipate the pain.<p>

She felt herself fly backwards, and when her back met against a building she came to her senses enough to see a pair of brain bots gripping either of her arms. She was only just in the clear as the car re-routed and sped on back down the road. Her heart pounded in her ears and she warily watched the brain bots. They bowged awkwardly at her before they flew away.

Roxanne always knew that she'd be somewhat safe where it concerned Metro Man and Megamind. She'd always been rescued; never once had she been left with a scratch from the kidnappings; dirty maybe but never injured. And even then she was growing the suspicion that she was never in any real danger during her kidnappings to begin with.

But now; this changed everything.

Now she realized that no matter what, Wayne or Megamind, she was always safe.

Two days later she found herself kidnapped again. She kept a rather stern expression on her face as Megamind turned in his chair and gave her his standard greeting.

"I should be furious you know…" she said to him. If she could cross her arms, she would.

"W-what?" he asked; honestly confused as to what she was referring.

"You're technically stalking me. Exactly how long have those robots of yours been following me around? I mean, really, when you think about it, I should be downright furious." She had watched as his face dropped; and as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"_But,_ I can't be angry with someone who saved my life." She smirked and watched as his face relaxed. He stood up from his chair and circled around her.

"Consider it insurance Miss Ritchi. Good captives are hard to come by, and I only want the best."

"Whatever you say Spaceman. So; what do we have today?"

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><p><strong>Love it? Hate it? Let me know! The whole idea of her being saved by protective brainbots and the "I should be furious you know" just wouldn't leave me alone. I've had a few ideas for the I should be furious line... and it may appear in another one shot as well.. i mean; in all fairness; our friend Megamind has done a few things that Roxanne should be furious about! haha (and hey.. Wayne has also done some jerk things too!) Well, this writer needs some sleep! Hope you all liked this one! and yes, i promise, i really am working on that sequel. I was struck by inspiration the other night after a slight writer's block! ciao ciao all! <strong>


	17. Chapter 17 To Be A Friend

**I'm not dead! And I haven't forgotten about this story. Once more work is interfering with my life leaving me very little time to write (or stay awake long enough to write haha)**

**Anyway I really hope that you all enjoy this one! I heard a few requests for Minion/Megamind so here ya go!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>To Be A Friend<br>**

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><p>"Sir? Where exactly are we going?"<p>

Minion looked up to his friend from where he lay cradled in his arms. They had left the Warden's apartment under cover of night and fled through the city with only a backpack of necessities. Mykael had sprinted from the building and only slowed to walk when they were a few blocks away. He seemed calm enough until he heard the sirens.

Figuring that they must be for him and that that warden had noticed him missing, he fled once more, running through the city. He continued to run and a stitch formed at his side, screaming at him. He took a corner near a darkened alleyway and clutched at his side, panting heavily. In the far off distance he could just make out the rumble of thunder.

"Where are we supposed to go now?"

"Do you remember that place we found before?" Minion asked. His friend remembered it well; it was the last time that he had run away, when he was only thirteen. They'd found the old building in the industrial district; clearly some long abandoned office building of some sort. They had lasted barely two days before Mykael had taken leave of the place in search of food. The police officer who found him at the edge of the district promised not to tell his father if he promised never to return to such an area. He warned the boy of what a dangerous area it truly was; he warned him of the criminals and vagabonds that occupied the area.

Without another word Mykael turned and ran for the industrial district, his brilliant mind remembering well the way to the old building. The thunder crashed overhead louder and rain began to fall. By the time he made it to his target he was soaked and shivering. He made his way inside and stumbled through the darkness towards the large empty room that he knew existed towards the middle of the building.

He gently placed Minion down onto the floor and rummaged through his backpack for the strange gun that he'd had to fish out of the Warden's safe. He'd invented it a few years ago and had since been attempting to improve it, but the Warden had found it and confiscated it.

"We need to start a fire…" he was never cold; and whether it was from the rain or the worry he didn't know, but all he did know was that he was cold and it was dark.

He was in what must have once been some sort of conference room and moved to the crumbling fireplace. His black sneakers squeaked across the floor as he moved, echoing in the silence. There was still a number of old chairs and papers from when the building was still in use, and using those and the de-gun he quickly had a fire going. He slowly removed the black leather jacket that he wore and placed it down on the floor to sit on right in front of the fire. The flickering light threw shadows across his face, betraying his exhaustion while the firelight made his green eyes glow. Mykael looked an awful mix of melancholy and positively terrified. He looked as if the world had broken him and he was terrified of what was to become of him. His shoulders hunched in more and he grasped tightly at his elbows.

Minion stayed silent as he watched Mykael, unsure of what to say. He had been sent to this planet with him to care for him and to help him; to be whatever it was that he needed him to be, whether that be a friend or merely a servant. Thus far that one thing had been a friend. But now even the wise fish couldn't find the words to say.

He remembered back to the day they had been sent from their home. His race was one that lived side by side with Mykael's. They were, for all points and purposes, sentient beings; wise beyond their years with the knowledge of many of those before them. He remembered well the day the alarms blared and the screens came to life with warnings. Even at his young age he understood what was being asked of him; and of what his fate held. He and the blue babe would be the last of their kind, sent to live on a far distant planet.

They were their home's last hope.

He had been leery of the prison in which they had landed; but soon they were taken in with open arms and well cared for. When they had first landed of course there had been questions about where they had come from and why they had been sent to Earth. Minion had expected curiosity and questions. He waited until late that night, when it was just himself, the Warden and the sleeping baby. The Warden, David Pearce, still seemed to be in a sort of shock; the little baby who had crashed into his life only hours ago was now nestled into his chest, fast asleep after a bout of screaming and tears. He stared at the tiny boy in his arms with a sort of wonder.

There was something about this man; the way he held Mykael, the way he had taken them both into his office and locked the door from any more questions, and the way he had already cared for Mykael. He didn't know him at all, but there was just something about the man that told Minion that he could trust him.

"You're probably wondering where we came from." Minion finally said. The Warden jerked his head up and looked around the room. He shook his head, muttering to himself.

"I'm hearing things…long night." he tried convincing himself.

"I mean really, when you think about it, it is kind of crazy." Minion said. The Warden slowly looked around the room before coming to stop on Minion. He stared at the fish for a moment and he stared right back.

"No…no way. That's impossible."

"Any more impossible than an alien baby crash landing into your back yard?" Minion posed. David Pearce stared at Minion, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form something to say. He slapped his free hand across his forehead before dragging it down his face.

"Well no, when you put it that way, I guess not."

"Well now that we've got that cleared up, there are probably a few things that you should know." Minion let out a deep sigh and little bubbles escaped his mouth, traveling up to the top of his dome. He began the story of where they came from; that their home had been sucked into a black hole and in a last ditch effort he and Mykael had been sent in a pod to Earth. He told him about his role in all of this; and that back home Mykael would have been a very important figurehead had he been given the chance. Their conversation took up almost an hour, with interjecting questions from David from time to time. When Minion finished David looked down to the little boy in his arms and let out a shaky sigh, adjusting the blanket around him.

"Wow…I'm.." he stopped and cleared his throat before looking back to Minion. "I'm sorry." How tragic it must be to lose one's home and everything they know and love. He looked down to the baby he had already grown frond of and felt a hitch in his heart.

_Poor kid will never even know anything about his home._

"He'll need protection too you know; someone to raise him. I..I can only do so much from a bubble." Minion said regrettably. He hated that he couldn't do more for his friend, but was already confident in the Warden's abilities. David took one look from Minion to Mykael and back again before nodding.

He had already fallen for the little boy; already felt that need to nurture and protect him. He'd already been playing with the idea of adoption papers when Minion had spoken up.

As they had grown and lived at the prison, Minion fully approved of David's parenting. There were of course struggles and misunderstandings; and those awful painful weeks where Mykael cried for hours as his growing head and incoming teeth plagued him. The Warden became so worried for why his little Blue was crying that he locked the three of them into his office and practically begged Minion to tell him why his boy seemed to be in so much pain.

Minion had barely spoken to the Warden since that night; instead he only spoke on the rare occasions to Mykael, when nobody else was watching them or when everyone else was asleep and the boy woke up. More often than not Mykael spent the night cradled in the Warden's arms, or in the playpen that he had purchased, but as he learned to walk and spent more nights on a bed, Minion only spoke to him.

As Mykael had grown and they'd gone to that awful school Minion was left to either stay at the prison, in the cell that made up their bedroom, or go to school and chance being that day's kickball. He'd sat there, wrapped in the boy's arms, and tried to comfort him as tears ran down his dome. When the boy had announced that he wanted to be a villain, Minion felt just as lost as David had. But, being a Minion meant being supportive, and that was just what Minion did. He might not have agreed with the choices Mykael was making, but as long as he was safe and happy who was Minion to say anything against it.

The pair had their good times of course; there were many times where David would come around the corner to find the pair of them laughing uproariously at something. They had formed a strong bond; stronger than most Minions and their wards. Perhaps it had stemmed from their circumstances; but the pair had quickly bonded from the moment that they had been brought together and since then had grown into best friends and brothers. Minion had really only wanted the best for his friend; had only wanted to see him happy and safe.

But now as they sat there in the darkened room he began to wonder if maybe he should have said something more at some point… maybe he should have tried harder to convince him to stay good, or to stay at home. Maybe just once he should have yelled at him to stop being foolish. Or maybe he should have been more verbal in telling the Warden what a terrible place that school was. Part of Minion even wanted to yell at Mykael for taking them from their warm, dry shelter at the apartment, where there was food and a bed. Part of him wished that he had shouted out for the Warden to wreck their escape.

But right now he couldn't blame himself; right now there was something else that needed his attention. He looked up from where his dome lay on the floor. Mykael had barely moved except to rest his chin upon his arms as he stared at the floor in front of him.

He was only seventeen and looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Minion rolled himself into his friend's side, nuzzling at his side in his form of a hug. It wasn't much but it was the only source of comfort that he could offer.

"Happy Birthday sir…"

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><p><strong>Hope you all liked it I have another idea or two for a couple of other oneshots with our buddies.<strong>


	18. Chapter 18 A Body for Minion

**Well this idea has been rolling around in my head for some time now, so I really hope that you all like it!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 18 – A Body for Minion<strong>

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><p>Though he would never outwardly admit it, Minion had hoped that they would return back to the Warden's apartment after their run-away. He figured that they would be there for a week at most, but as a week turned into two and then three he began to realize that his friend had no intention of returning back to the warm apartment. He lost even further hope when Mykael began to refer to the building as "The Lair".<p>

His legged counterpart had already made a number of successful runs to nearby convenience stores for food, water, and as many sugary snacks as he could get his hands on. He'd broken into a pet store and came back with a larger tank for Minion to swim in for the time being.

All hope of leaving soon had gone out the window when Megamind began tinkering around with various inventions. He'd already played around with the body he'd tried making for Minion when they were children, but grew frustrated with the inability of Minion moving it on his own and moved on to building his own computer instead.

He'd been struggling to spend as little of his savings as he could. When he'd left the apartment he'd brought along an envelope of money that he had been saving from various chores and gifts. He knew, however, that it wouldn't be enough. If they were to keep on living where they were, they would need furniture; more than the few chairs and the old couch that they had dug up. They would also need transportation. There had been one particular car that had caught Minion's attention and once the blue genius laid eyes on it, he knew that they needed to have it. But this need of a car was more than just transportation; it was the need to own something for his own.

He thought back to a man that he had been introduced to during the convention that the Warden had taken him to; he had been particularly interested in an idea for a jet engine that Mykael had told him about and had offered a good deal of money, plus a profit of the earnings for his idea. With a bit of handiwork the blue teenager managed to gain internet access and sent a message to the email address he had saved to his memory. Two days later an email came in from Mr Ken Tenshi; he expressed his delight at receiving word from the bright young man and begged for a number to reach him at. Mykael had to send his regrets at a lack of a telephone and made it a personal promise to gain one at his earliest convenience. 

"Are you really sure that you want to do this?" Minion queried. Mykael and Mr Tenshi had agreed on a video chat to iron out the details of their deal. Mykael sighed and nodded to his friend.

"We need money Minion, this is the best we've got."

"Well you could get a job." The fish muttered under his breath. He'd been becoming more open with his sarcasm and his opinions on Mykael's choices.

"Don't be silly Minion! This is a job; I can invent _and_ focus on being the most terrifying villain this city has ever known."

"So…you're going to sell your inventions under the table then?"

"Well; not so much under the table Minion. Just…under a different name. Or well; it's my name really and I'll perform villainous deeds as Megamind…which is also my name.." He trailed off before pausing. He finally shrugged and shook his head. "Oh whatever, it doesn't matter."

The amount that Mykael received in his bank account was more than enough to get the pair of friends comfortably by for years to come. Nearly a week later he was the proud owner of the old Hudson that they had been drooling over. Mykael did what he could to make repairs to the car and to customize it to his own contentment, but there were many things that he realized he needed a second pair of hands for; in fact there were a great many things that he wished he could have assistance with. And he often found himself wishing woefully for a way for his best friend to move around freely. 

"You know Minion, I've been thinking. We need to get you a body."

"Say again?"

"A body, Minion. It'd be much better for you; to move around."

"I dunno about that…haven't we tried that before?"

"Well yes, but I've been playing around with another idea!" he leaped from his seat at the old workbench and grabbed a random pile of papers. He held the first one up in front of Minion's tank. "See? Now I know it's only a rough sketch now; but _ideally_ it would run off of your own neurological commands. Oh, and the best part?" he moved another piece of paper, this time displaying a drawing of a large robotic body.

"Well Sir; that's…impressive." Minion eyed the drawing. It looked like some odd mix between a robot and a gorilla. The more he thought about it, the more he surprisingly liked the idea of being able to move about. "But how are you going to build it?"

"Just leave that to me Minion." Mykael smirked. He'd roamed around the industrial area enough times to know where to find scrap metal and tools. Using his dehydration gun and the car he was able to shrink all the materials that he needed into cubes and easily carry them back into the Lair.

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><p>It took the young genius weeks of work, a few fits of rage, and a few redesigns before the body was finally built. He'd spent laborious hours building hydraulics for the limbs, a tank system to filter Minion's water, and the wiring that would keep it running while able to get wet.<p>

"I've done it Minion! It's finished!"

"That's great Sir. But how do we…"

"Make it work? That is going to be the difficult part." He held up a small strange looking object; it resembled a computer chip with a tiny antenna.

"What's that?"

"_This _is what's going to make the whole thing move."Mykael had explained his plans multiple times to his pal. He had explained how the chip would be attached to Minion and that his brainwaves would control the machine. He had also explained the harder part of the pain that it could potentially cause to attach it. Minion was surprisingly okay with the risks; and Mykael was beginning to think that his friend was growing tired of floating around in a tank or ball all day unable to do anything else.

"But I _do_ have a plan." He reassured Minion.

"And what's that?"

"Well we'll need supplies. _Proper_ supplies. We'll need iodine and alcohol, scalpels and sutures…and we need some sort of anesthetic." He paused for a moment and let out a sigh. "And the only way to do that is to go to a hospital. Minion; I think it's time to bring out the watch. We can give it a debut."

"But Sir! It's not ready yet. It's still faulty!"

"It's good enough to get me in and out of there."

"And how are you going to get a disguise!" Minion fretted. Mykael had been working on a watch that could place a disguise over him to make it easier to gain food and supplies. Thus far it had been unsuccessful; the watch was faulty and the holographic cover cut out without warning.

"I've already got one…I scanned a local boy last time I was out. All I need to do is go in there, pretend I broke an arm or something trivial, and get the supplies."

"I don't see why you don't just scan a doctor."

"That-is actually a very good idea Minion. I can go in there, as a patient, scan the doctor…steal his identification card, and boom! Instant access to supplies! Of course I'll need the dehydration gun! Minion it's genius!"

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><p>"And what seems to be the problem today…Lee?" The doctor looked from his clipboard to the young man that was seated on the examination table. Mykael was hidden beneath the disguise of a teenager about his own age; he had shaggy black hair that hid his eyes and wore jeans, black tennis sneakers and a sloppy black hoodie.<p>

"I think I broke my arm." The voice sounded weird coming out of his throat. He looked to the older man before him and gripped his arm for appearances. "I was…skateboarding, and I fell."

"Well, why don't we give it a look then and see the damage?" he turned to place the clipboard down and before he had a chance to turn he was struck in the back of the head and fell to the ground. Mykael quickly scanned the man and was soon standing in the room as an exact double.

...

The plan would have gone off without a hitch had it not been for that damned nurse. Mykael had quickly located the supplies that he needed and had shoved the glowing blue cubes into his backpack. He was but a few feet from the exit doors and nurse, probably coming out of an extended shift, walked into him full on with a cup of coffee in hand. The watch shorted out and his blue form was revealed. He had made his best attempt to make a run for it but was tackled down. The next thing that he knew, he was staring up at the warden from behind the bars of a prison cell. He had already had a few close calls from police chases. He had expected for the Warden to let him out and take him home and force him to stay in the room that had become his. What he had not expected was for the man to leave him there. His frustration grew as he thought of Minion and how worried he would be. And so no sooner did the Warden leave that he quickly outsmarted the guards and escaped back to the Lair, backpack in hand.

...

A shrill scream pierced the air and sobbing joined it.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Mykael's hands shook as he swallowed back a sob. He had not planned on the anesthesia burning off so quickly, and he had not planned on the procedure to take so long. He swallowed hard and tried his best to comfort his friend. Minion was laid in a shallow tray of water, enough to keep him breathing and moist but not so much as to get in the way of the procedure. The blood was spreading through the water, making it look much more worse than it probably was.

_Blood…why is there so much blood?_

"We're-we're almost done Minion. I promise. I'm so sorry… this was so stupid!"

"No no…it was my idea too." Minion gritted his teeth against the pain. He was trying his hardest to stay strong, but the pain was becoming too much.

"We just need to attach one last piece…and sew you up. We're almost done." Mykael took a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself. He needed to get this done. He needed to finish up and administer whatever other pain killers that he could. He was too afraid to give his friend any morphine now; he needed to keep him alert while dealing with such a delicate organ. He watched Minion shudder and made the decision to at least attempt a bit of anesthesia. He hoped the few pricks that he gave Minion would be enough to get them through the sutures. He worked quickly, making every stitch perfect.

When he finished he dropped the needle into the tray and let out a shaking breath.

"Never again….I'm so sorry Minion."

"Don't be." He grimaced, trying to hide his pain. He tried not to wince as Mykael cleaned the area and applied a dallop of healing salve. With shaking hands he picked up the piscine and gently placed him into his orb. He wanted Minion to be comfortable, but he also wanted him close; he needed to keep an eye on him, to be absolutely sure that he would make it through this foolish endeavor.

Mykael gently reclined back on the pull out sofa, making sure to wrap Minion in a nest of blankets for his comfort. The dark was silent for a while as the pair calmed down. Mykael was just able to take normal breaths when Minion spoke again, his voice quiet.

"Sir? Do you think we could try the suit soon?" he asked. Mykael chuckled at his friend's perseverance.

"Minion, we can try the suit when you're healed. For now; please rest. Deal?"

"Deal."

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><p><strong>I know! I know! I'm awful and terrible! But I've always wondered about Minion's suit and the little device on his back. I've always wondered how the moment would have gone down when it was attached. Please don't kill me!<strong>


	19. Chapter 19 An Alternate Rain Scene

**This idea popped into my head a long time ago… it was a secondary idea for the beginning of What They've Needed All Along. I did not use it because I felt it did not set the right tone for the start of my story; I felt I to be a bit too sad and a bit out of character for both Megamind and Roxanne. All the more, I would like to share it. It's like those deleted/alternate scenes from the dvds **

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><p><strong>An Alternate Rain Scene<strong>

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><p>She stepped into her apartment, sopping wet and shivering. She turned the deadbolt into it's place and the clack of the lock seemed to echo in the silence. She turned and with a thump fell back against the door, sliding down to the floor as a sob left her throat. She felt numb… and yet she felt as if she were broken into millions of tiny pieces. She covered her mouth with a hand, trying to hold in her cries as her free arm wrapped around her middle, holding herself together.<p>

She shivered, but she doubted that it had anything to do from the cold. In but a few short moments everything had changed; and she felt as if it had all ended. Everything that she had come to know was gone now. She first cried for herself, that she had been lied to and deceived; that she had been so foolish to have not seen it all this time. She had been quite thoroughly fooled.

Her mind flashed to that fateful kiss; she had felt the shift once she hit his watch; but it certainly hadn't been unpleasant. If anything it felt better; more right.

But then once she came to realize just with whom it truly was that she had been sharing so much time, and so many secrets, her temper flared before her mind could process thought.

And then, _Oh God,_ all those awful things that she had said.

Then she didn't cry for being tricked nor lied to. She cried for the cruel things that she had said. She cried as she realized that she no longer had any sort of future with the blue-skinned man that she had so clearly fallen for. And she cried for not just her broken heart, but for his. For it was not only his actions that that had hurt somebody. Now she cried for everything she knew that she had lost.

Now there wouldn't be anything.

No more dates.

No more kidnappings.

No more him.

Roxanne succumbed to her grief, not caring about her ruined dress or the puddle that had formed under her from the rain rolling off of her. She no longer even felt cold. Her mind processed no other thought; she was blank.

She heard a tapping and her head shot up, looking to her balcony doors. In the darkness she could just make out a figure. A flash of lightning illuminated him from behind and she gasped.

Slowly she rose to standing and walked to the doors, turning on a nearby lamp as she crossed the room.

"Megamind?" she opened the door and was greeted with that same mournful expression that he had looked at her with before she had walked away from him.

He hadn't been able to just let her walk off; walk out of his life. He had to try and fix things.

He had never meant for things to go as far as they had; and then as they progressed he couldn't find himself wanting to stop it. He found how much he truly enjoyed her company; he loved that he could make her laugh, he loved the smile she sent his way when they spoke, even if it was not to his true face she did so. It was his voice and his words, and for him that was enough. No one had ever treated him the way that she did, and he couldn't bear to lose that.

But now his own selfishness had gotten in the way and ruined everything.

Now, he very well could lose her forever.

And he couldn't bear it; he had to _try_ to make things right. Even if she didn't forgive him and never wanted to see him again, a thought that sent daggers into his very being, he had to at least apologize. One look at her expression sent another torrent of pain slashing through him.

"I-I'm so…sorry." He looked to her, and took a deep breath, trying to steady his shaking voice. He was just as wet as she was; dripping wet and cold. But none of that mattered. What mattered was his broken expression, matching hers, and his need to try and explain.

He sighed and opened his arms out to his sides as he shook his head; offering himself to her, baring his everything for her to accept or deny. He felt more exposed and nervous than he ever had before.

"You!" She lurched forward, sobbing once again. She fell into him and began to beat against his chest with her fists. He didn't move, but rather accepted her hits. He deserved it, he knew. He also knew that she would need to release her frustrations. Her attack slowed and she rested her forehead against his chest as she continued to cry. His arms rose to wrap around her cautiously, in case she were to attack again. But the need to comfort her was more pressing than any worry about her hitting him. Her fist fell against him again, barely a tap from exhaustion, and her head slowly rose to look at him. Their faces were so close together that she could feel his breath against her face. Almost as if reading one another's minds, their foreheads came to rest together. A sigh escaped her as she tried to stop her tears. His nose gently touched hers and, glancing over her face again, he brought his lips to hers.

The kiss was fire and passion, it was anger and love, and it was apology and a pleading for forgiveness. It was like an angry storm rolling through them, like the waves of an ocean.

One of his hands tangled in her wet hair as his other came to her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her hands tangled into the front of his cape, holding him close.

For that time nothing could be heard but the thunder and the sound of lips moving together. He moved his hand from her waist to her face, putting every ounce of apology as he could into the kiss.

All too suddenly she pulled back with a gasp, pushing against him to hold him but inches away. She stared at his chest, breathing heavily, trying to find her grounding once more. Her eyes slowly roamed up to his eyes and they moved in, like magnets. Her lips didn't meet his though and they stay suspended there, lips barely brushing as she managed out a whisper.

"You have to go."

"Roxanne…" his volume matched hers. She shook her head though, closing her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. She seemed to be holding some sort of internal battle with herself. His hand reached up, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear as her forehead rested against his.

"I'm sorry." Her voice broke as she spoke and she lifted her chin, her lips just hovering at his, stuck in her struggle. They only just brushed and she pushed herself back and away from him, her hand coming up to brush away the tears that were already escaping. "I'm sorry just…go. Please. Go…" she turned for her room before any more tears could fall.

He stood there, staring after her, unsure if he should leave or stay on her couch until morning and explain again. It killed him to do it, but he knew that there was more than one reason that she was telling him to go. If any of the neighbors were to see him in her apartment it would not end well for either of them. He sighed resolutely and turned to go off into the dark night. He would find some way to speak to her again, and to apologize. He would not kidnap her against her will, he would do this properly.

Roxanne awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming through her windows; the day seemed too cheery after such a terrible night, as if mocking her. Her weary eyes, sore from crying, winced at the light streaming through. Something caught in her vision and she turned to her balcony. Just outside her door, on the small café table she placed out there sat a single blue rose with a black ribbon tied around its stem. For the longest time she stared at it, not even aware that at one point she was no longer even seeing. She snapped out of it as her ears tuned in to the nearby clock tower ringing out 7am.

She called in sick to work that day, feigning the flu. She couldn't bear the thought of appearing on air today; or going anywhere for that matter. She spent all day sitting on her couch, staring out the balcony doors. She absentmindedly twirled the blue rose in her fingers; pondering over the previous night. She tried convincing herself that the only reason she had kissed him was because she was consumed with guilt. But now, as she sat there and tried to imagine her every day goings-on without his presence, it scared her. He had become such a solid being in her life that there could be no other way. And that scared her.

It scared her to not have him in her life.

Even more it scared her that she felt so deeply for him. Her mind screamed at her that it wasn't right. It went against all morals that she should possess.

But all the more, an even stronger voice strengthened the fear of never seeing him again.

Little did she know, far across the city, a certain blue villain was having the very same internal debate. He'd always felt quite fond for the reporter; but he'd always tried his best to keep their relationship strictly professional.

He'd broken all of those rules when he'd begun his ruse as Bernard. Minion fretted over his friend; worried at his pale complexion and gloomy demeanor.

Megamind didn't know how he would do it, but he knew that he would do whatever it took to make things right.

"Sir; what exactly do you expect to do?"

"I can't say for sure Minion…but I have to do something. I have to _try_. Even if I have to beg for her forgiveness."

"And if she doesn't forgive you?"

"I have to try, Minion."

For every day that passed that week, Roxanne awoke to another rose on her balcony. She finally forced herself to go back to work after two days. She couldn't stay hiding away forever. She was questioned as to her health when her haunted expression worried her friends and colleagues. The only one person she told a half-truth to was Reena, and even then all that Roxanne had told her friend was that she had gotten into a fight with Bernard and that they would no longer be seeing one another.

She went about her business at work; plastered on her professional smile on camera and turned quiet and sullen as soon as they called for a cut. She knew she was not acting in her normal nature, but the very term "normal" had never quite applied to her, and any bearings that she might have had on it flew out the window nights ago.

At the end of the week she returned to her apartment to a different surprise. All week long she had awoken to a single blue rose with a black silk ribbon tied around it. Tonight however, she found something extra. The seventh rose lay on her balcony, with a sealed envelope underneath it. It was crisp and black, of a heavy stock, and her name was scrolled across the front in a beautiful silver calligraphy. With shaking hands she opened the envelope and unfolded the white cardstock inside. The page was filled with the same beautiful penmanship as the envelope.

_"My Dearest Roxanne,_

_No words can ever truly express my regret for what I have done to you. I can only hope that you will listen to my apology as I humbly beg for your forgiveness. I know that no letter, no amount of apologies or gifts can ever truly make up for deceiving you and abusing your trust. It was never in my intentions to hurt you. I acted under selfish reasons. My disguise was never meant to go any further than getting you safely out of that museum. But then, when I was able to experience what it was like to be treated like a real person; and by you of all people, I couldn't bear to stop. Not then, when I was able to be so close to you; to make you laugh and see your smile and know that I was the one who brought it out. Our relationship has been one that should have been only professional, but over time I began to realize just how much I truly cared for you. I only hope my feelings are not unrequited._

_I've spent all these years as a villain, and it turns out that you have also become a villain in return; for you have stolen my heart._

_I cannot imagine a life without you. You have become a beacon of light in my dark life, and without you my life is like a night without the moon. I miss you like the stars miss the sun in the morning sky. The pain of not seeing you, of knowing that I hurt you so harshly has broken me; and the pieces of my heart are so small they could be passed through the eye of a needle._

_I may not deserve your forgiveness, but please accept my apology. I only wish to make things right once more._

_With love,_

_truly and forever,_

_Your hero in villain's clothing"_

Roxanne wasn't sure exactly when she had started to cry, but now her tears fell in torrents. Never before had anyone been so open with her; she was touched by the beauty and honesty with which he wrote.

_He's written as if I've died…_

She looked next to the flower he had left her.

_The seventh of them_ she mused.

"A flower…for every day of the week."

She nodded to herself and hurried to her room. Within the hour she was gone from her apartment and headed downtown. She just barely remembered the way to the old warehouse. Her hand searched the wall for the opening and she slipped through in silence. Her heart pounded so heavily in her chest that she feared somebody would hear it.

It was silent as she walked through the old building, and only the echo of her footsteps provided any sound. She had never seen much more of the Lair than the garage and the room in which nearly all of her kidnappings occurred. She walked around the corner to see the familiar red curtain from before. She looked around, finding it odd that she had seen neither alien nor brain bot and raised a hand slowly to pull back the curtain. She stopped as she heard footsteps and turned around to come face to face with the very man she had come to see.

"Roxanne?" he questioned, as if unable to believe that she was really in his home. He approached her slowly and she opened her mouth once to speak but her throat seemed to close up and she took in a breath instead, holding up a hand in signal to not come any closer. After a moment she exhaled, slowly lowering her hand back to her side, but he didn't move any closer. They each stared off at one another, struggling to get any words out, when Roxanne's voice came out.

"Why?"

"Wha-?" He wasn't entirely sure as to what she was asking about. The flowers? His deceit? He went for c: all of the above. "I meant every word that I said…if that helps any." He stared at her, hopelessly, as if waiting for her to call in the firing squad.

"Ya know; I don't get you." She finally said, thoroughly shocking and confusing him. "You act like this huge villain, like you're so evil and don't care about anybody but yourself. And then there's this whole other side to you; it's like you're two people! You go from absolutely crazy…to...to kind and –and romantic and sweet and funny. I just…I don't get it. Is it all just a game to you? Because I really get the feeling that the person you showed to _me…_the one who…who holds doors open for me and can make me laugh, and sends me flowers, and says the kind of romantic things that should only exist in movies; that's the _real_ you. And I just don't get why you try to hide that away and act like you're so evil." She was rambling, she knew it, but once she started talking the floodgates had opened and everything came pouring out.

"I-I _care_ for you Roxanne…possibly more than I should. I would never intentionally hurt you or bring any harm to you. I never intended to hurt you with my lies."

"Then _why_?" the look she shot him was steely, yet there was the slightest tinge of something else in her eyes that Megamind couldn't quite place.

"I wanted to be close to you…why do you think I've kidnapped you and only you? I've always been fascinated by your tenacity…how you've always managed to match my wit blow for blow. How you've never once been afraid or cowered away. You've always fought back, you've even stumped me a few times!" he chuckled. "And then once I got to know you, even if it was all under a disguise, I fell even harder for you. Believe me, I tried to fight back those feelings from long ago, I knew I never would have a chance to be with you. But…it's everything about you Roxanne! You have this amazing_ passion_ for life, and adventure, and for people and for everything you do! And that's just amazing! You're so unlike anything I've ever known before; you're warm and you're wonderful, and you're beautiful and you're so frustrating and you're annoying and you're a little crazy. I spend half my time thinking about how much I love you, and the other half wishing that I'd never met you. And really; how could you ever expect me to just give that up?" he gave a rather bitter smirk; fully admitting that he knew he was only teasing himself with something that he already told himself he could never have. For a moment Roxanne was struck speechless at his heartfelt confession. Slowly her mouth managed to form words.

"You could have always said something…" she was too tongue-tied to come up with anything else.

"Oh like you'd have believed me. Like you'd have ever listened…I'm the _villain_. It's not in our occupational contracts to associate as anything other than that. Even as a villain you've treated me better than anybody else did!" he let out a sharp bark of a laugh, as if it were all so ironic.

"And what's ever made you think that I don't care about you at all?" she took a measured step towards him. "I've never pressed any charges Megamind… I've never been the one to call for Metro Man to come rescue me. I…"she trailed off and sighed, shaking her head as she looked to her feet. She really didn't know what else to say. She was usually so good with words and now she was at a loss for them. "I could never hate you Megamind." She let out a quick sigh of a laugh.

He slowly reached for her and brought her in closely. He wrapped his arms around her waist and her hands came up of their own volition to gently grip his arms. His eyes drifted down her face, from her blue eyes to the freckles dotting her nose, to her lips. With a sigh he rested his forehead against hers. When he spoke his voice was low.

"I can _never_ apologize enough to you…for everything I've done. I should be smart and leave you alone forever…it would be best. I should disappear and never risk hurting you again." His eyes drifted back to hers, soaking in the bright blue, before tracing over her face again. "But I can't do that…I can't go a single day without seeing you, and I've realized that now." He lifted his eyes to meet hers, blue mingling with green. "I don't _want_ to leave you alone."

"Then don't." she said quietly. Her chin tilted up a fraction, bringing their faces ever closer together. He let out a sigh as he traced his nose alongside hers.

"I'm not good for you Roxanne."

"I wish you'd stop telling me what's good for me and let me make that decision." She said. He shook his head but a fraction, fighting with himself. His considerable forehead caressed hers and a part of her brain marveled at just how smooth his skin was.

"You should _really_ tell me not to do this…" his lips just ghosted across hers. "You should be disgusted by me…you should tell me to stop and push me away..." his lips drifted up, kissing the bridge of her nose, right between her eyes. She realized that she didn't want him to stop. She _wouldn't_ tell him to stop. In that moment she realized there was nothing more that she wanted than to be close to him. To have her body pushed up against his in an embrace, his lips against hers. "All it takes is one word Roxanne…and I'll stop." His lips brushed against her earlobe, traveling to her cheek. "You should really tell me to stop now or I won't be able to…" he let out a breathy chuckle. Roxanne wondered whether he was really giving her the choice, or was just biding his time, expecting her to come to her senses and push him away. "_Now_ would be a good time…" he placed a kiss against her other cheek, "or now" another one just under her jaw, "or even now" he whispered, just against her lips.

But Roxanne didn't want him to stop. All she wanted was for him to stop denying her the one thing she wanted. And so she hooked her hand behind his neck and pulled him in the rest of the way, crushing her lips against his. The fire from their kiss that rainy night reignited in a blaze. Megamind wrapped his arms tightly around her frame, bringing her flush against him. One of his hands reached up to cradle the back of her neck, tangling in her hair. Her hands fisted into his shirtfront before sliding over his chest and around the back of his neck tightly. A groan escaped his throat and the sound coaxed her even closer as she pushed against his body. He moved his arm down around her waist and pulled her up just enough that her toes skimmed the ground. She was never really one for corny clichés, but being in his tight embrace made everything make sense again; she felt like she had found exactly where she should be. But she also knew that they needed to slow down before anything escalated more. She wanted it, heavens above she knew just what she wanted; but not like this, not now; it wouldn't be right. Her lips slowed against his before she pulled back from his lips. Their breaths came out heavily from their lack of oxygen and they let out a soft chuckle together when their eyes met.

"Wow..." he finally said, looking to her eyes. She giggled, something she realized that only he could elicit from her, and gave a tiny nod.

"Yeah…m-maybe we should find somewhere to sit down? To talk?" her green eyes searched his. He trailed a hand down her arm, taking her hand in his. He lifted it to his lips, brushing a kiss against her knuckles, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Right this way, my dear."

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><p><strong>Sooo...what did you think!? :) If I had used this chapter it would have potentially led into the one I have in the actual story after the rain scene, where they sit and talk about one another's lives and etc. <strong>

**And let's play find the quote for a cookie! (because we know I'm the quote queen!)**


	20. Chapter 20 A Very Megamind Christmas

**So I'm really hoping everyone likes this. It's been bouncing around in my head for a little bit. I apologize for any mistakes or if it's a little boring; I really wanted to get it out in time for Christmas!**

**I took the idea from the last chapter of What They've Needed and expanded.**

**And so; here we have it; a very Megamind Christmas!**

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><p>Not a soul in Metro City would have ever guessed that the ex-villain-turned-hero Megamind loved Christmas. But, next to Halloween, it was indeed his most favorite holiday. Megamind woke up Roxanne and Minion very early one morning the week before Christmas, lamenting over the fact that in the craze of the Adam debacle they hadn't had a chance to get a tree, nor decorate, nor really shop. He had, in secret, begun a gift or two for his dear family members, but it was nothing compared to years past; when Megamind and Minion would start their festivities weeks in advance.<p>

That was exactly what had led them to the middle of the forest, miles outside of the city, in the freezing cold. From her high vantage point on the hill Roxanne could see the city as the sun began to rise, spreading its golden rays over the rooftops. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle, watching as her breath left vapors in the air.

"Oh oh! Roxanne, this way!" Mykael called out to her excitedly and she turned around to see him smiling brightly as he bounded over to her and gathered her into a tight embrace. She couldn't help but giggle at his appearance; he had donned a thick winter coat that rather looked like a black marshmallow and a pair of thickly lined boots as well. He had topped his head with a bright red Santa hat and had red mittens to match. He released her from his embrace and backed up, grasping her hands in his. "Isn't this exciting!? Now come on, we have to find the best one!" and with that he turned around and headed into the woods, pulling her along with him. It was impossible to not smile with his cheery mood. But she was still curious as to why he had dragged them all out of bed at the crack to hunt for a tree.

"Sweetheart, it's not that I don't appreciate your…enthusiasm for Christmas, but why don't we just go buy a tree from that tree stand? You know the one."

"Oh tish-tosh! We _canno_t have a tree that's already been cut down! We need to find it _ourselves_! That's one of the best parts of Christmoose! Hunting for a tree, cutting it down and dragging it home to decorate!"

"Alright… but is this even legal?"

"Well…it's technically public property." He said carefully. "And really Roxanne, do you really want to spend all that money on a tree that's probably been sitting there out of water for over a week already just so that we can bring it home and have all the needles fall off? Besides, no one will even notice."

"Well…." She trailed off, thinking for a moment before she returned her gaze to him and smirked. "Better make sure that it's the biggest most beautiful tree that we can find."

"Ahahaa! That's the spirit!" he lifted her into another hug and spun round in his glee. "I still stand by what I said about you making an excellent evil queen!" He placed her feet back down and folded her hand into his elbow as he led her along once more. Roxanne smiled mischievously.

"Yes, but that would mean you'd have to arrest me for criminal activity, Mr. Hero."

"That could always be arranged… we still have all that rope." He looked to her, his expression burning with desire. He pulled her to his chest, leaning in to kiss her when-

"Sir! Miss Ritchi! I think I found one!" Minion called out. Mykael let out a sigh and rested his forehead against Roxanne's.

"Well, I guess that we had better go and see what he's found." he smiled.

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><p>The tree that Minion had found had indeed been perfect. They had searched here and there to see if they found anything better but kept coming back to "their" tree. All it took was a quick call through his watch and a group of brainbots had joined their trio, and quickly sawed the tree and lifted it up and away. When they returned to the Lair the brain bots had set the tree into a stand and it stood proudly in the open space, reaching up to the landing above. Roxanne stood at the base of the tree and stared up. She had seen large trees before; every Christmas party at the Scott Mansion always had a large expertly decorated tree, always with bulbs of gold, white, and red. But this tree dwarfed all those other trees by far. From behind her came a loud clatter and she turned to see Mykael and Minion both stumbling into the room, arms laden with boxes and bins.<p>

"What's all that?" she inquired.

"Our Christmoos decorations of course!" he began digging through the boxes. "Now, what colors are we to do this year Minion?"

"Well Sir, all the latest magazines are showing red and gold, or bright neons as the hottest colors this year."

"Hmm yes, but we never have been one to follow the trends have we?"

The two continued in their exchange as they dug through their boxes. Roxanne poked through one of the nearest few bins, digging through multiple boxes of glass ornaments of all shapes and sizes.

"Why don't we try a mix of colors? We can put on white lights and then just a mix of ornaments. Blues and greens, purples and golds, all of it!" Roxanne heard Mykael suggest. She and Minion gazed to one another across the room, before nodding in agreement.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Roxanne said. The blue-skinned hero stood up quickly and whistled for his brainbots. They zoomed to him quickly, and hovered around the room awaiting directions. Roxanne knew the bots well enough to know that they were excited and couldn't suppress the giggle that bubbled up in her throat.

"Now, we have a pretty big tree this year, and it's going to take team work. First thing; lights, the warm white ones." The brain bots bowged in response to his command and began rushing about the room. Roxanne found herself impressed once more as the bots coordinated themselves and set the lights on the tree in a flash.

As they began to dig into their ornaments they realized just how tall their tree truly was. It took nearly six hours to finish decorating their tree, as well as the employment of the spider bot, one of Megamind's old lifts, a hook and the brain bots to finish decorating their tree.

When they had finally finished the trio stood back and gazed happily at their handiwork. Not only had the tree been decorated, but garland, holly, mistletoe and other such decorations had been hung up all over. The lights and decorations gave the Lair a warm and homey feeling, leaving them all feeling as if they were being warmed from within.

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><p>As the days continued to pass Roxanne found Mykael rushing about, diving behind the red curtain for hours at a time, and sneaking around. She knew he was attempting to plan his gifts and felt amused at his tenacity for keeping them all secret.<p>

Minion had made quite a feast for Christmas Eve, and though it was just the three of them he had spared no expense. Mykael had waited until after their dinner to ask Roxanne if she would sit with him in the observatory; it was a particularly clear night for stargazing he claimed, but she certainly hadn't expected the surprise that awaited her there. They had been standing there, looking at the glowing stars above, wrapped up in one another as they laughed about the old days and spoke of their love for one another. Roxanne gazed at the stars again as they fell into a comfortable silence.

"Look! A shooting star!" she pointed after the little dash of light in the sky. Mykael smirked at her reaction. He'd always been entertained by the human superstition of wishing on a star. He'd tried, albeit teasingly, to reason with her that stars had no powers to grant wishes as they were "balls of burning gas"; yet she only laughed and insisted that as long as she was superstitious and as long as he was blue she would keep on wishing on stars and that he could laugh at her all he wanted.

"You'd better make a wish then." He said and his lips curled up into a smile. Roxanne closed her eyes a moment and took in a deep breath. When she opened them again he moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her as he held her close. His lips were close to her ear now and his breath tickled her skin.

"What'd you wish for?"

"I'm not supposed to tell! It won't come true!" she laughed.

"I won't tell anyone." His voice was lower now. She chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. He folded her hands into his.

"Don't laugh…but I wished to touch the stars." Her voice lowered to a whisper, keeping her wish between them. He could hardly believe his luck at such perfect timing and thanked whatever sentient being above had granted it to him.

"Well…I dunno about all the stars, there's far too many. But would you settle for just one?"

"What?" she started to turn to look at him, her laugh dying on her lips. She felt it then, the little piece of metal that hadn't been there before. It had been warmed from hiding in his pocket. The ring was stunning; a thin white gold band that complemented her petite fingers; the stone itself was a gorgeous rounded sapphire blue and she could have sworn that an entire galaxy resided inside of it. The blue stone was flanked by two smaller white diamonds. She felt her breath hitch as she looked at the ring on her finger.

In the short moment it took her to turn around he was down on bended knee, looking up at her with a look of seriousness she'd never seen him wear before. He held her hands in his as he looked up to her, his green eyes glowing.

"Roxanne…You make me the happiest I've ever been. You showed me who I really am and how amazing life can be. And I know this may be sudden; it hasn't exactly been all that long since we've starting seeing one another. Although if you really think about it we have technically been seeing one another for a roundabout of five years.." he paused, realizing that he was rambling and hoped desperately that he hadn't squashed it all by referring to their kidnapping days. He took a deep breath and looked back up to her. "You are exactly what I never knew I always wanted. I may not be able to promise you normalcy, but I can promise you happiness, and never-ending love and devotion…if you'll have me. So please; would you do me the extraordinary honor of becoming my wife?"

Roxanne felt the hot tears rising to her eyes as she smirked. "I would never want any life with you to be normal; you're far too exciting for that." She chuckled and a few tears made their way down her cheeks. By the curious expression on his face she realized that she hadn't exactly given a straight forward answer.

"Yes…I will."

He looked absolutely astonished.

"You said yes?" he asked, standing up. She giggled, and nodded her head, her tongue suddenly unable to form words. Her nodding continued, refusing to let go of his hands to wipe away the happy tears.

"Yes! You said yes! Yes!" He swooped in and wrapped his arms around her waist, spinning her around.

Their happy laughs and cheers joined together to echo into the night air.

As their laughs settled into a comfortable silence and they looked over the water that reflected the stars and moon above, they realized how at peace the world felt just then. They had overcome dozens of obstacles, the city had been saved twice, and he was now regaled as all as the beloved genius and defender of Metro City. Everything had turned out perfectly. Everything _was_ perfect.

Mykael looked to the woman who had agreed to be his bride and he felt a surge of pride and joy he'd never known before. If someone had told him years ago that he'd be right where he was now, he would never have believed them. It was an astounding fairy tale that neither of the two would have believed had they not been living it.

And though they both knew that the world wouldn't stay at peace forever; and though they knew that some point in time the hero would need to save his city once more, they happily welcomed the peace, and whatever danger and excitement the future would hold; happily accepting that life would never be normal or boring.

As they settled down for the night, watching as the Christmas lights that had been hung above their bed blinked on and off in a splatter of color against his walls, they grew excited for what tomorrow would hold, and to begin their happily ever after.

* * *

><p>When they awoke Christmas morning it was to a city covered in snowfall, which only heightened everyone's excitement at having a white Christmas. Mykael had woken up at six in the morning, and woke his family with him, before he bounded down to the tree. It wasn't a meager Christmas for anyone. Minion had received several cookbooks and a new set of cooking tools as well as a new castle for his suit. Roxanne had also gone to think outside of the box and given him a collection of books that she knew he would just love.<p>

As for the reporter herself she had received a pair of gloves and a scarf, made with love from Minion; as well as a stunning silver bracelet from Mykael and an upgraded disguise watch.

The Hero had been quite confused when he opened up an empty box marked from Roxanne, and she giggled, ensuring him that while he would also have to wait, he would love it. Little did he realize that that particular gift included lace and silk as well as a generous view of skin. His other gifts of a new laser drill and a cape from Minion, and classic rock records and concert tickets from Roxanne would go nearly forgotten when he saw his promised gift.

After everyone had opened their gifts only a few remained under the tree, intended for Reena and Wayne who had gone to visit their respective families. The new betrothed told Minion as politely as they could that they were retiring for the night, which; after they way that they had been canoodling for the entire day, Minion had no qualms with. He would much rather dig into one of his new books anyway, and give the couple their time to celebrate their happy engagement.

Once in their room, Mykael quickly discovered just what had been intended for that empty box. And he appreciated it, for the short ten minutes before it hit the floor to lay forgotten.

When the couple lay down for the night, practically floating in bliss; the same thought passed through their minds; of how lucky and happy they truly were.

And of how this, of all Christmases past, had truly been the best.

Down the hall Minion felt the same warmth of happiness as he readied to turn in for the night, his new castle warm and waiting for sleep. He turned to the last page of his book, having been up for hours reading it and smiled as the lines reverberated through his mind as he drifted off to sleep;

"_God bless Us, Every One!"_

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><p><em><em>**love it? hate it? i hope it's not terrible! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy **Chanukah, and everything else to everyone else who celebrates what they celebrate! :D :D Happy Holidays to all and may you all be well! :)**  
><strong>


	21. Chapter 21 A Different Kind of Dance

**In What They've Needed I had a scene in which I wrote Roxanne using fighting tips she learned from Megamind to defend herself against Adam. I thought it would be a quite one-shot to actually write that lesson. I envision this taking place sometime after chapter 12.**

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><p><strong>A Different Kind of Dance<strong>

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><p>After their run in with Adam, and with his growing concern for her safety, Megamind took it upon himself to teach Roxanne at least a few self-defense moves, should she ever need them. It was after dinner one night that he told her to change into some more flexible clothing and to meet him downstairs.<p>

"So what's going on?" she inquired once she met him downstairs. The floor had been cleared and she looked around curiously.

"I figured that it's prudent to teach you how to defend yourself, considering the current situation that is. And besides it's always good to know how to keep oneself safe."

"I thought that's what I had you for." she gave him a sultry smile and wrapped her arms around his neck, to which his cheeks and ears turned purple in a blush.

"And I'll always protect you, never doubt that. But I still want you to learn." with that he gave her a swift pat on the bum and turned from her embrace, not missing the amused yet shocked expression on her face. "Now then, if you were to hit me, how you do you it?"

"Well I wouldn't hit _you._" she countered. He smirked and chuckled in response.

"And I thank you for that my dear. But for a moment let's pretend that I'm once more a vile villain, set out on harming you."

"You never meant to harm me." she said.

"Well then let's pretend I'm a truly evil villain, intent on harming you. For the sake of education my dear Miss Ritchi."

"Well.. I'd.." she hesitated, looking at him. She swung out and he easily caught her hand.

"Well it's not terrible, but it's a good way to break your thumb." he gently turned her hand over in his and released her fist before folding it back up into the proper form. "You want to keep your thumb on the outside, and wrap it down across the bottom of your other fingers, across your index and middle really. And don't clench your fist quite so tightly." He smirked gently, trailing his fingers over hers.

"When you strike, you want to aim more with your first two knuckles than the flats of your fingers, less likely to get a break that way _and_ it will be more effective. Tilt your wrist, like so, and try to keep it aligned here and here." he slowly trailed his fingers up her wrist and to her forearm, delighting in the shiver his ministrations caused. He moved around her, trailing his hand across her waist and came to stand behind her.

"Now then my dear, when you strike, the part of the fist that should be taking the impact is the flat area between the second and third knuckles. You want to keep your wrist straight while making impact there to maximize the force you dish out.." All the while he slowly guided her arm and wrist, speaking gently into her ear, his breath moving her hair to tickle her skin.

"And lastly, turn your body, like so;" he guided her in her turn, angling her body slightly sideways. "Use this foot as a sort of leverage, to gain more power. Push off and swing." he moved then to stand in front of her, holding his hands up in front of his face. "Now try again my dear."

Roxanne swung out as she had been taught and he caught her fist again, smiling as he did so.

"Much better. But fighting is more than knowing how to throw a punch; though that is important." he snorted. "Fighting is a sort of call and answer between your adversary and you. Although you want to be the one in control of course...and well it's a bit of dance really." he turned from her then and walked to the stereo in the corner, turning on the music. Roxanne chuckled as he returned to face her.

"I never pegged tango as fighting music."

"Well no, not exactly, but it is rather good dancing music. And for now, while we are starting slow anyway, it provides a good beat. Now my dear, the first and most important thing to remember, besides the punch, is to always focus; always observe your opponent and learn from them; watch their mistakes and weaknesses. Find their strengths. And _never_ let them back you into a corner."

"Right; watch, learn, don't get trapped." Roxanne nodded. Megamind smiled at her then, taking a ready stance.

"Exactly. So if I were to go here..." he trailed off and stepped towards her, swinging an arm out. He would never hit her of course, and would have quickly redirected his arm. But Roxanne ducked swiftly, side stepping him. His smile grew then.

"Very good. And if I were to go this way?" He stepped to the side, moving to swing out once more. She blocked him easily and sent out her own jab at him. "I've always admired what a quick learner you are." he complemented.

Back and forth they went; Mykael grew even more impressed with how quickly Roxanne was learning. When she moved to swing out at him again he caught her hand, and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. She gasped in surprised and looked at him, a blush tinting her cheeks. His lips tilted up in a seductive smirk and spun them around, leading her in a tango. The moves were unfamiliar to her, having never danced a tango before. But it wasn't the first time that they had danced together, and she was able to pick up on his lead. His hand trailed down her side and lifted her leg over his hip, leaning back before returning the appendage.

"I've always found the tango very alluring, don't you? The music, the way it flows...the partner." he dipped her low before snapping her back up again, gazing into her eyes. She was rather breathless when she spoke, a certain tingle in her belly was fighting to overtake her senses.

"And where on earth did you learn to tango?"

"The internet has many uses Miss Ritchi. Why it's easy enough to find a number of videos on all sorts of things." he spun and dipped her again, keeping her low and hovering over her. Slowly he brought them to standing again and she rested her forehead against his, their lips nearly brushing.

"This is probably another one of those things you would have liked to know when I was still trying to get you to be my evil queen, isn't it?" he teased her. Roxanne let out a short laugh and brought her hand up behind his neck.

"Just shut up and kiss me."

Hours later the couple lay in a tangle of sheets, sated and exhausted, their clothing at various points of the room. Roxanne chuckled as she lay her head on his chest, trailing her hand up and down his stomach.

"So are there any other _exciting_ secrets I should know about?"

"All in due time Miss Ritchi. All in due time."

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><p><strong>well there you have it. I hope you all enjoy it. And for those wondering, yes I AM still working on the sequel...it's been taking a while and life has gotten in the way more than once. But it is happening! As always thanks for sticking by and for all your kind words, reviews and support :)<strong>


	22. Chapter 22 Always a Bridesmaid

**WOOHOO! Here we go! A fic! This original idea came from tumblr user followmetoyourdoom. It was a really great idea, so I just HAD to make it into a one-shot. As you read you may find that I have watched 27 Dresses one too many times! :)**

**I was pretty excited that I was able to fit this in there along with all my other oneshots! (I think some fun will come from it too when in my sequel we get closer to the wedding!). I figure this would be placed (timeline wise) a few months or so perhaps before where the movie begins. **

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><p><strong>Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride<strong>

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><p>When a girl is asked to be a bridesmaid, there are a few things she can expect; the awkward meeting and planning with bridesmaids she doesn't necessarily know, the inevitable bridezilla freak-out, and an ugly dress that no one likes except the bride. However, Roxanne Ritchi could tack on one more item to her list; the inevitable chance that she would be kidnapped at some point during the wedding.<p>

The wedding was that of a work friend of Roxanne's, Karen. They had been working together for a few years; since Roxanne's start at the station, and had formed a friendship from there. But, knowing the bride's particular sense of style Roxanne knew she was in for a very..._interesting_ dress.

The dress itself was a shiny shade of dark green that the designer had described as olive but Roxanne thought looked more like steamed spinach. The poufy shoulders were off-set to rest at her shoulders and the body was tight, clinging down to her knees where it then ended in a tea-length puff. It was, in all honesty, hideous. She knew she wasn't the only uncomfortable one as they all stood in their line at the altar, and shuffled around awkwardly during their photos.

"Ugh I can't wait to get this thing off so I can burn it..." Roxanne grumbled, pulling at the sides uncomfortably. She and Reena had hurried off to the bathroom after the photos, needing a few moments away from the crowd and to complain about their awful attire.

"Oh come on, the best part of wearing this God awful thing is so that some hot drunken groomsman can rip it off with his teeth." Reena replied.

"Got your eyes set on someone already then?" Roxanne teased.

"Yes. And I'm surprised you don't...but then again I do know you're a little more.._shy _about your bedroom exploits." Reena wasn't one to normally rush into bed with just any man, but sometimes a simple little one night stand, especially after a wedding, was just what a girl needed...in her opinion anyway. "I'm shocked you didn't at least bring a date."

"Oh yes, because there's nothing like a wedding to remind you that you're single." Roxanne replied.

"You know you always could have brought Wonder Boy...or perhaps you had another certain _devilish _man in mind-"

"Alright...that's enough." Roxanne stopped her friend. "Might as well get back out there.."

Roxanne was pleasantly surprised that she had made it all the way through to the cocktail hour without being kidnapped. But she knew she had more or less jinxed herself when, right before the beginning of the reception, she stepped out for a quick breath of fresh air and saw that familiar furry arm poke out from around a bush and blast her with a dose of the knock out spray.

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><p>The all too familiar smelly bag was lifted off her head and the blue face she knew too well came into view.<p>

"You couldn't even give me _one_ day? I was at a _wedding_ Megamind!" Of course she knew he knew she had been at a wedding; she doubted there wasn't very much that he _didn't_ know about her life and social engagements. But she couldn't let the opportunity to show her aggravation slip by.

"Well well..always the bridesmaid, never the bride it would seem Miss Ritchi. If you just ask, I could change that you know..." his voice dropped low as he leaned into her.

"Oh you mean you can find me a tall, handsome man with a great sense of humor and intelligence to match? Why didn't you say so sooner?" She retorted.

"Oh-ho-ho" He laughed. "Well in case you haven't noticed, which I am sure you have, _I_ am _incredibly _handsome and intelligent!"

"Uh-huh..you're missing the tall part there bud."

Megamind huffed in annoyance and stood up straight before he flicked his cape angrily, grumbling.

"You know green really isn't your color Miss Ritchi." He watched as she squirmed and couldn't stop the smirk that tugged the corners of his lips. He couldn't believe he was thinking it but even Roxanne couldn't pull off that monstrosity. "I mean really; what do you even call that color? Vomit?"

"It's really not that bad...it's the lighting in here. You always keep it so dark. In the light it's really quite...nice." Roxanne attempted to defend the dress. She knew it was awful; but she also knew how much Karen had liked it. And a good bridesmaid always tried to stand by the bride and her decisions.

"Uh-huh. Right. I'm sure. Admit it, it's terrible. You look like a shiny mermaid."

"Oh come on...it's not that bad. This color is really very in."

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that. It's terrible. But really you should be flattered; she clearly didn't want to stand next to a tall, beautiful woman and have you actually looking decent."

Roxanne didn't quite know how to respond to that. Instead she remained silent a moment, staring at the dress before moving her gaze to his.

"And I suppose you have a better suggestion?" she questioned.

"As a matter of fact I do my dear; you'd look much more stunning in black, or even better; _blue_."

"Keep dreaming."

"You know what I really don't understand? Why do brides insist on picking the ugliest dress they can and forcing their friends to wear it? I mean really; it's like an instrument of torture!"

"I'm surprised you know what torture really looks like."

"AHA! So you admit it's a device of torture used to make you suffer!" he practically hopped forward; excited to have the one-up on her for once.

"...I never said that. You're putting words in my mouth." _damn. He almost had her there._ "Look can we just hurry this all up? I'd like to get back to the wedding and eat. Or ya know; at the very least get home so I can change."

"If it's getting out of your dress that you desire, I can most certainly help." Megamind said, his voice dropping to that low and sultry tone once again.

"Hmm..Somehow I don't think so." she replied, her tone matching his.

"One day Miss Ritchi you will find yourself most unable to resist my charm..."

"Charm? Is that what we're calling it now?"

"Always the funny one, aren't you? We'll see who's laughing in the end!"

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><p>The rest of Megamind's plan had barely been able to begin before Metro Man came bursting in.<p>

"Oh how did you even know this time!?"

"Seems you were a little slow on this one Megamind. A call came in on Roxie's behalf; she's a very missed guest of a wedding. I should be getting her back. I'll let you off on a free pass this time Megamind; for being thoughtful enough to not wreck any buildings this time. I'd hate to get dirty before heading back to the party." Megamind wasn't about to question this one; it had been a sort of secret pass that the two had created in the past years. If Megamind hadn't had a real plan in motion he wouldn't wreck a building and Metro Man wouldn't cart him off to jail; if he made it easy for the hero that was. It didn't happen very often, but every now and then the exchange would occur. Roxanne herself could care less who was saving her and who wasn't being thrown in jail. As long as she could get free of that rope and out of that chair, no matter what happened after, it was one step closer to getting out of that dress! The villain sighed, running the idea over for a moment. He supposed his fun was up; for now anyway.

"Oh fine. Have it your way Metro Mahn. We _will_ meet again Miss Ritchi. Oh and Metro Mahn? If you wouldn't mind using the door this time?"

Once they were in the air, Metro Man couldn't stop the chuckle that left him.

"What so funny?"

"Oh ...it's nothing at all Roxie. It's just...what the hell are you wearing?"

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><p><strong>And that's a wrap! It definitely came out different than I had originally intended but I think it works out well! What do you think?! :)<strong>


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